The Racial Discrimination Experienced by Alice Nannup
When Alice Nannup was taken away from her family by the white people, she was mistreated since then. According to the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic,
the separation of the Aborigine children from their family, had been done since the 1850s. The children were taken away from their family to the orphanages,
training homes, apprenticeships, and white foster care Cashmore, 2004:1-2. This practice had been practiced
till Alice‘s time and thus, she had to experience how it feels to be taken away from her family. From beginning of her life journey,
separated from her family and lived with the white people, Alice started to experience such as called racial discrimination. The Campbells, who took Alice
from her family, did not treat Alice like her own child as promised. As Alice described on her own in the When the Pelican Laughed,
The Campbells never once came to see how we were, or see if we wanted anything like biscuit or something. We were just little nobodies. The only
time we saw them was at night. If it wasn‘t for Tommy, I don‘t think we would have survived it. He used to go and buy fruit for us and sit with us
whenever he could p. 47.
Alice as a critical girl back then started to realize that she was treated differently by the Campbells. Alice realized that the way she was treated was not
right. To Alice, the Campbells have almost nothing good in the way they treat Alice and the other Aborigine kids who were with her. Even if there was a good
thing that Alice could describe about the Campbells was, ―One good thing the
Campbells did was give us a rug, and we‘d sit outside with it around us p. 47.‖ Alice together with the other Aborigines kids had to experience improper
treatments by the white people since they were at a very young age. Looking how Alice described that they were given rug which was not a very pleasant thing
shows that it was what the white people think the Aborigines deserve. Furthermore, Alice was forbidden to meet her biological father who was a white
man. Mrs. Campbell said to me, ‗Your father rang this morning. He wanted to
take you children out but I had to say to him that he isn‘t allowed to.‘
‗But why?‘ I said. ‗Because Mr. Neville forbids you to see him again.‘ p. 50.
Alice doubted about the reason why she was not allowed to meet
her father again. Later, Alice found out that Mr. Neville who was the Chief Protector of Aborigines who has power to take control of
Alice‘s life p. 51. If it is related to the background of the Aborigines society, it is true
that in the 1910, the Aborigines Protection Board Act gave the authority to the board to have
a ‗legal‘ control over Aboriginal people http:www.creativespirits.infoaboriginalculturehistoryaboriginal - history -
timeline – 1970 - 1999. This shows how the white people with power has taken
control over Alice Nannup‘s life which has made Alice not only separated from her family but also was not allowed to meet her father even when her father
wanted to visit her. It was just same as in the background of the Aborigine Society recorded in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies that the Aboriginal Acts
had taken away the civil rights of the Aborigines which include the freedom to do what they want and control over their own family Cashmore, 2004: 1-2.
Alice Nannup was sent to the protection board since she was a little girl. There, along with the other Aborigines, she was being prepared to be made as the
servant who would be sent to work for the white people. Before Alice and other girls were sent to the white people, they were gathered in the concentration camp
or training camp as if they were being trained and prepared to be sent for work later. There, they were made to work for hours and they had no choice to do the
work that they like. The saddest fact is that even when they work hard for hours, they were not paid for the works they had done.
All the girls who were taken out of school and sent down to the sewing room, were started off on the button holing and things like that. We had no
choice about working there and we were never paid for it. We‘d work a full week, then we‘d go down every Saturday morning to clean the
machines, brush them up ready for Monday. Then they‘d come along with a little block of chocolate for us and that was our pay p. 70.
For the white people, the Aborigines were meant to do the works for them. They did not care much about the quality of life that that the Aborigines should
have received. The Aborigines worked hard, yet their pay was really less that even Alice Nannup said in the passage above, that their pay was just a little block of
chocolate. What Alice had experienced was just like any other Aborigines had
been experienced in her time. As it is also written in the site http:www.creativespirits.info that in 1927 it is included as one of the
policies which is the Aborigines‘ payment would not be given to them
personally but through the Aborigines Protection Board. It seems that treating the Aborigines in an improper way was not enough.
The idea that the Aborigines were just part of an inferior race made as if the Aborigines deserve to also be punished harshly for simple mistakes they did. As
Alice Nannup mentioned and described what she saw about how her fellow Aborigines got punished.
―So for those that got punished, the punishment was harsh. If girls ran away they‘d send the trackers after them and they‘d be brought back and
their hair would be cut off, then they‘d do time in the boob p. 74.‖
From what Alice explained, it can be noticed that the Aborigines who were trying to escape from their superintendents received harsh punishments. If the girls‘ hair
were cut off, then they must be really humiliated. This would not ever happen to white people. Then it means that the punishments were meant for the Aborigines
who had been labeled as having lower status in terms of race. The worse thing is that the punishment was held in public as if it was for the public to watch that the
Aborigines deserve that kind of punishment or it is to warn the Aborigines that they would be punished if they disobeyed the law made by the white people.
They made her kneel, then they cut all her hair off. It was falling down in big long tresses and we were made to stand and watch. We watch it fall
onto the ground around her, and we all stood quietly crying for her p. 75.
Being punished in front of the public may be seem intended to humiliate the Aborigine people more, so that the one who was being punished learned her
lesson and would not make the same mistake again. Moreover, the Aborigines who were brought to the protection board were
not able to leave as they wish including Alice. They were brought there to serve the white people. Alice critically pointed out that the only time they could leave
that place is when they are not needed anymore. [
…] See, I couldn‘t leave; it was Mr Neville‘s strict orders that you‘re not allowed to leave. When you are there, you are there for good. The only
time you could leave was when they didn‘t want you any more p. 101. When Alice was sent out to work for white people, she was just made as
the servant and that the white people think that Alice should obey whatever she was told to do by her master. This shows how the Aborigines were being
exploited and were meant for slavery by the white people in Australia. Alice, as an Aborigine, was being exploited and made as slave by the whites as if she had
no choice to refuse. In her writing, it can be seen how Alice had that critical thought of how the white people wanted to push her around.
I think Miss Ryan thought that me being the servant made me just a bit of dirt she could push around. But I wasn‘t one of those kinds, I rebelled – I
had to because I was keyed up all the time. I thought to myself that if I was humble all the time then it would be worse for me in the long run p. 104.
It was when Alice was sent to work for Mrs. Larsen when Miss Ryan, Mrs. Larsen‘s niece, made a fuss with Alice. Miss Ryan spilt the water on the
floor and called out to Alice to clean the floor. Alice who just finished cleaning the floor, bravely refused Miss Ryan‘s order. However, Alice‘s bravery made her
had a fight with Miss Ryan. ‗Anyway, Miss Ryan wanted to wash her hair. She carted this water
through the house and spilt it on the floor. Just after I had finished polishing it mind you. I heard her sing out to me, ‗Alice, bring a cloth and
wipe up this water.‘ ‗What water?‘ I asked.
‗In the passage.‘ ‗But,‘ I said, ‗I‘ve just finished polishing in there.‘
‗Look, there‘s water there – wipe it up‘ ‗Well, how did it get there?‘
‗Oh,‘ she said, ‗it just spilt. I want to wash my hair.‘ ‗You wipe it up,‘ I said to her.
‗No, that‘s your job. You wipe it up.‘ p. 102. Alice, who did not like how she was treated by Miss Ryan, went to Mrs.
Larsen and complained about what had happened. Mrs. Larsen told Miss Ryan, that if it was Miss Ryan who spilled the water, then it is her duty to clean it up.
However, Miss Ryan pointed out that it was Alice‘s duty as the servant to clean it
up.
Mrs. Larsen called out, ‗Kathleen,‘ and Miss Ryan came in. Mrs. Larsen
said to her that if she‘d spilt the water on the floor then it was for her to wipe it up.
‗No,‘ she said, ‗she‘s the servant, she‘s got to do it.‘ ‗Well, I‘m not doing it,‘ I told her pp. 102-103.
Based on the passage above, it can be seen that how Miss Ryan told Alice Nannup to clean the floor with the reason that it
was Alice‘s job as the servant, shows Miss Ryan‘s superiority towards Alice. Alice, being an Aborigine, was
made a servant for the white people and her status as an Aborigine servant had given the opportunity for the white people to treat her as they like for the white
people believe that they are more superior compare to the Aborigines. When Alice refused to clean the floor, Miss Ryan did not stop until there.
Not admitting that she was at fault, Miss Ryan reported Alice to Lady Dugdale, a police officer. As Miss Ryan and Alice were getting crossed with each other, they
both were involved in a light physical fight. Miss Ryan hit Alice with a brush and Alice smacked her back. However, Lady Dugdale only blamed Alice as if it was
Alice‘s fault. Mrs Larsen cal
led me into her room and we all had a discussion. I‘d smacked Miss Ryan in the face and she had a little bit of a bruise there.
Lady Dugdale told me, ‗You mustn‘t ever do this to your mistress.‘ I was really upset. I said to her, ‗What about me, look at me. She broke
Mrs Larsen‘s brush on me.‘ You know, you people, you let your temper run away with you,‘ she said.
Yeah, well I work hard here. I‘ve got more jobs to do than one. I‘ve got a right to get cross,‘ I told her.
‗Yes, well, look, I‘ll take Alice out there and I‘ll give her a good trashing,‘ she said. p. 103.
Lady Dugdale put all the blame on Alice and wanted to take Alice out of
the room and speak separately. She wanted to give Alice a good trashing. By taking sides in this case Lady Dugdale was on Mis
s Ryan‘s side, her behavior
proved that she was in agreement with Miss Ryan that it was alright to treat the Aborigine servant as they like because they think that they belong to a superior
race. By treating Miss Ryan favorably because she was a white person, proves that Lady Dugdale practiced racial discrimination towards Alice. So, it is clear
that the white people discriminated Alice in a way that they showed their superiority in how they treated Alice.
Another part in the When the Pelican Laughed that shows how the white people show their superiority towards Alice is when Alice arrived at
Wyalkatchem and ran into a new Australian guy. Since, this place was a very prejudice place, the new Australian man told Alice to get lost from there and
threatened to kill Alice if Alice refused to. There was a gang of workmen nearby and they had just knocked off. They
came along and one of the blokes saw me there in the waiting room. He was a new Australian, and he said to me in broken English, ‗What you
doing here?‘ I was a bit scared of him and I said, ‗I‘ve just come back from Perth. My
boss was supposed to meet me but he went without me.‘
‗Who your boss?‘ he said. ‗Mr Cashmore.‘
‗Well,‘ he said. ‗You no stop here. You get from here, cos if you don‘t…I‘ll kill you‘
When this bloke threatened me I got the shakes, I was really frightened. I just looked up at him an
d I said, ‗But where am I going to go?‘ He got a bit closer to me and he said, ‗That your problem, just get, go on, get out of
here‘ p. 126. Alice, who did not know where to go, was afraid of the threat from the
new Australian man. The threat from the new Australian man, who of course could tell that Alice was definitely an Aborigine, shows how the man did not like
to see any of the Aborigines in that area. This kind of reaction from the new Australian man can be done by people who feel that they belong to a superior
race. This man bravely told Alice to get lost just because Alice was an Aborigine. It means that this man is definitely not an Aborigine and mostly seems to belong
to the white race. His action towards Alice is showing that he is part of the superior race so that he has the right to treat Alice like he wanted to. As for Alice,
she realized that she has no power because she was an Aborigine, became afraid of the man.
Another proof of how Alice had been discriminated by the white in a way that the white people with their superiority determined the payment of Alice and
the other Aborigines. Alice was very critical about the situation around her. She could see that she and the other Aborigines were really cheap labors for the white
people. It is clear that the Aborigines, according to their payment, they were social marginalized by the whites. The Aborigines were paid really low simply because
they are ―Aborigines‖ and not ―white‖. It also could be seen from the fact that it was not only the rich white people who could hire them but also the white people
who were not very rich. It shows that even the white people who were not very rich could have the right to order Alice and the Aborigines around. The reason is
simply that because the white people think that by being white people had given them the opportunity to have power and to have control over the Aborigines.
Although they were pretty well off, it wasn‘t only rich people that had us working for them. See, we were cheap labour, you know
– well, that‘s my impression. It‘s just like with the squatters of yesteryear, that‘s how they
made their money – a stick of tobacco and a bag of flour to pay the
Aborigine that did all the work for them p. 137.
These treatments that Alice had received from the white people show how the white people wanted to make themselves clear to Alice that the white people
are more superior to any other race. As the
result of the white people‘s superiority towards the Aborigines, the Aborigines at that time were segregated in certain ways. The white people made
some clear social marginalization towards the Aborigines where the Aborigines experienced the denial of housing, education, justice, and political participation
http:www.skwirk.com. These restrictions were set up by the white people and were meant for the Aborigines to know the boundaries that they were not allowed
to cross. These boundaries in the community life include the poor facilities, treatments, also limited access to public places.
Furthermore, as it is written in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies that
The racial discrimination may range from the use of derogatory labels, such as ―kike‖ or ―nigger‖, to the denial of access to such institutional
spheres as housing, education, justice, political participation, and so on. The actions may be intentional, or unintentional Cashmore, 2004: 345
Also in the same book it is explained that racial discrimination is also known as racialism, which is the act that is meant to deny certain groups to have
equal access as what the other group may have Cashmore, 2004:345. This theory of racial discrimination on the in the community life would be
used further to analyze the experiences of Alice in more details. How it was real that Alice was really experiencing the horrible experiences.
Alice Nannup in When the Pelican Laughed told her story well on how she was being discriminated in a way that the white people did not give her the
appropriate facilities and treatments she deserved as part of human being. Being part of an Aborigine descendant was not easy for Alice. She had to face the fact
that she was being discriminated in a way that she had no proper facilities and was not treated appropriately.
Since Alice was taken away from her family, she was made to work for the white people. Even though when she was taken away she was just a girl, the
white people still made her to do a lot of works. Despite all the works she did, she was not repaid back in the same way. Instead, Alice had to face the fact that she
was not treated as a child, but more like a servant, even though she was said to be part of the family who took her away from her parents.
We both had to work while we were there – washing dishes, sweeping the
verandahs, scrubbing out the bathroom and toilet, things like that. They used to say to us,
‗You‘re our children now,‘ but they didn‘t treat us like that. Doris and I shared a room in the house, but we ate on the verandah
where we washed up and not with them p. 39.
Alice explained that even though she was told by the white family that she was like their child, the way they treat her did not show she was their child. She
had to do a lot of works along with Doris, the other Aborigine girl. Even when they were on the boat, they had to stay on the deck and had their meal there. They
were not allowed to join the family in the dining room. This is part of the segregation in the community life that Alice lived in. From beginning of the
journey living with the whites, Alice was showed what it means to be an Aborigine that was considered as the inferior race by the whites. The poor
facilities and bad treatments she received made it clear that the white people had indeed practiced the racial discrimination towards Alice.
The whole time we were on that boat they never took us into the dining room once.
We had to sit on the deck outside the kitchen door and they‘d bring us a round bowl with food in it p. 46.
When Alice stayed at the protection board, she also described how she and the other Aborigines were treated. For an instance, the food that they had to eat
was described by Alice as terrible food. On the other side, the superintendent and the white staff had nice food, much better than the food which was given to Alice
and the other Aborigines. The food was terrible; that‘s the food we ate, not what the superintendent
and white staff had. They had beautiful food; roasts, lovely stews, curries with rice, food like that. I know because I ended up working at the Big
House, and they certainly didn‘t have to eat like we did p. 63. Another part of the When the Pelican Laughed that has proven how Alice
was discriminated by receiving poor facilities and treatments from the white people is when Alice had her meal in a restaurant. Even at the restaurant, if
someone was an Aborigine, then it was necessary to eat separately from the white people. The restaurant that Alice went to had put up a curtain for the Aborigines
in order to make them unseen by the white people. To Alice, the curtain was put up so that the white people would not notice the Aborigines who went to eat there
as well. Had any of the Aborigines been noticed by the white people dining at the same restaurant, then the white people prefer not to come and it there as well,
―[…] but I think the curtain was put up because white people wouldn‘t come in and eat if they saw us in there. That‘s just how it was […] p. 119.‖
The Aborigines during Alice‘s times were meant to work for the white people. Education was not really necessary for the Aborigines. The white people
would somehow avoid the Aborigines from getting the education they need. Alice Nannup explained of what she had heard from the conversation between Mr.
Neville and the sewing mistress. One time when Mr Neville came we were all in the sewing room, and he
was standing talking to the sewing mistress. They were talking about education and other
things, and I heard him say, ‗Ohh, it‘s all right, as long as they can write their name and count money…that‘s all the education
they need.‘ Well, I think that tells you all he thought of us p. 71.
Based on the conversation between Mr. Neville and the sewing mistress about the education, it implied that the white people think that education was not
necessary for the Aborigines. The Aborigines‘ right to acquire education was
taken away from the Aborigines is also supported in http:www.skwirk.com which confirmed the Aborigines‘ right of acquiring education was denied by the
white people. In terms of payment, Alice also had little payment compare to the white
people who also were hired. Since the Aborigines belong to cheap labors category, their pay was very cheap. Alice, who had experienced in working
together with a white woman, definitely knew how they were paid differently just because Alice was an Aborigine. Alice realized that she was paid much less than
the white woman. By saying ―a white woman‖ in her writing in the passage
below, it means that Alice knew that the payment was also considered based on their race and not the works they did. Alice critical thinking could see how she
was discriminated because of her race.
[ …] There was a white woman working there too. She was a cap‘n‘apron
woman, and I think she was earning close to twenty-five shillings a week. White servants were paid a lot more than us [
…] pp. 137-138. Alice had many experiences already on how she was treated in a different
way because of her race. She not only observed how her fellow Aborigines were treated poorly by the white people but also experienced it herself. It was not only
one time but several times she did mention in her book how the white people kept themselves separated from the Aborigines in the society life. Even when Alice
was a boarder at the same place with some of the white people and that she should have received the same treatments as the other boarders, she should face the fact
that still she was discriminated by the white people. Well I was a boarder there, the boss was paying for my board, but I wasn‘t
treated like a paying boarder. I had a little room and I just sat in there all day with nothing to do, and no one to talk to. At meal times I ate in the
kitchen while all the other boarders were served in the dining room. It
wasn‘t that I wanted to eat with them, because they were all men, but I should have had the same treatment as the other boarders. I thought Annie
and Mrs Williams would sit and eat with me, but as soon as the men were
finished they‘d go and have their meal in the dining room, and never invite me pp. 153-154.
Alice was not welcomed by the other white boarders even when her board was being paid just like the others. She not only got small room for her but also
had to eat by herself in the kitchen. Based on the passage above, it could also be seen that the other boarders do not seem to have the interest to be having any
interaction with Alice. Alice, as an Aborigine was also at disadvantage even when it came to look
for a place to live with her family. It is because that as an Aborigine she was faced with the denial of housing, the restriction set up by the white people
http:www.skwirk.com. When Alice already had four children with her, she needed a place to stay and so she wanted to rent a place. However, it was not easy
for her. The white people were always given the opportunity to have the first option. As on the other side, the Aborigines, even when they had enough money
to pay for the rent, they should have someone to recommend them for a place to rent because that was the rules.
[ …] I felt terrible, but I wasn‘t living there because I wanted to – we had
four kids, and steady work wasn‘t easy to get. Even if you had the money you couldn‘t just go and find a place to rent – white people had first option
there. If you were an Aboriginal family you had to get someone to recommend you for a place to rent p. 167.
Another way of how Alice was being discriminated by the white people is in the way the white people set up some strict premises for the Aborigines.
Meaning, the Aborigines would not access certain public places freely because the white people had forbidden them to. Alice experienced it herself. When Alice was
giving birth to her child and was admitted in a hospital, she was kept separately in such a small room. The way Alice described it, shows how inconvenient it was to
be there. However, there is no choice since she would not be allowed to be in the main ward where the white women would be there.
[ …] We weren‘t allowed in the main ward where all the other women
would be, we had to be kept separate in a little place that was just like a meat-ho
use. It was very small and hot […] p. 155. The passage above shows that Alice was being discriminated by the white
people. Alice as an Aborigine did not have the right to freely access certain places at that time. She realized that the way she was treated was unfair. When Alice said
―we‖, she refers to herself and the other Aborigines women. She knew that only
her and her fellow Aborigines that should be kept separated because they should not be around the white people were.
At one time, Alice who was sitting outside the hall, where the white people were dancing, quietly watched and enjoyed the dancing until after the MC
of the dance came to her. The MC wanted Alice to leave that place. The reason was that the dance was only meant for the white people and no Aborigines should
be seen around where the white people held the dance. This is clearly shows how Alice as an Aborigine has no right to freely be at any place she wanted to be.
There were some strict premises set up by the white people that forbade the Aborigines to be at certain places.
Because this was a dance for white peo ple only I wasn‘t allowed into the
hall, so I just stayed out on the ramp and looked in. I stood there watching everyone dancing around enjoying themselves and my feet were just
itching to get on that floor p. 160.
The last evidence taken from the When the Pelican Laughed that proves how Alice was being segregated in the community life was when Alice was
standing with her children under the verandah of a hotel. But then, the proprietor of the hotel came and told them that they were not allowed to be there under
certain premises. Suddenly he turned to me and said, ‗Excuse me, madam, but you know
you‘re not allowed under these premises.‘ I looked at him to see if he was serious. ‗Who said?‘ I really couldn‘t
believe what I was hearing. ‗I‘m asking you to move because you‘re not allowed under these premises
p. 181 .‘
It is implied from the passage that the proprietor of the hotel, bravely told Alice to move from there because he knew clearly that there were premises that
the Aborigines could not freely be at the places which were only meant for the white people. This act shows how the Alice as an Aborigine was denied equal
access to certain places as the white people would be allowed into. So those are the ways in which Alice was discriminated based on her race. It can be seen
clearly through her experiences depicted in the When the Pelican Laughed that the racial discrimination practices had made Alice struggled hard to face it.