Moore+River

==Gillian, Terry, Greg , Scott==

What is a wiki? A wiki is a website or a page which allows people to share information anywhere. Wiki’s serve a lot of different purposes as some wiki’s may allow editing (adding or removing content). There are many types of ‘Wiki’s’ such as Wikipedia which is the most commonly used wiki, wiki-leaks and forgetting the one we are using now: wiki-spaces. A wiki is great for everyday life such as work. But you should never trust wiki’s 100% as they are not always correct as people think they are which are one of its disadvantages is. Wiki’s a great for school and work as it allows easy and fast access to information as well as send information to someone. As ‘Wiki’ in Hawaiian means ‘fast’. Wiki’s are being used more frequently and growing ever more popular with the technology when they were first created and introduced to the world. Wiki’s will become even more popular over time as technology improves but there will still be some flaws in the wiki’s. Over-all Wiki’s are great for any type of use as it always helps people with their school-work such as assignments. By: Terry & Greg

Group Evaluation: Our group had troubles from the start and we knew it was going to be a challenge to post all the questions up in just a few days. Fortunately, most of our team members managed to post up their questions, except Scott who failed to post his questions on time. Our group didn’t have the best communication over the period of time we had to post the questions up. But we were very fortunate that we were allowed to gather in our groups during the English classes and discuss what was wrong with our group and how we could solve it. We had problems as to which person will do the questions, as Scott only managed to get 6 questions out of the whole booklet. At the end most of our group did manage to post the questions on time which was great but we felt that some questions were not answered with a lot of detail and meaning. Over-all the group did pretty well as everyone did their part.  By: Terry & Greg



= __ The start of the film __ =


 * 1) The filmmakers begin the film by briefly talking about what happen during the stolen generations.


 * 1) When the film begins, the first scene is a bird’s eye view of the desert bush land, which looks like an Aboriginal dot painting.


 * 1) The impression I gain of Aboriginals living in the desert is that they live in the Aboriginal way, hunt for their food and pray to the spirits.


 * 1) Molly’s totem, the spirit bird appears at the start of the film. It later appears when she is at the Moore River Settlement, the night before the three girls escape and near the end of their journey their journey back to Jigalong.


 * 1) The impression I get of the role of the police, is that they are to keep the Aboriginals under control and capture the half and quarter castes.


 * 1) We know that the Aboriginals fear the police because the girls, Molly, Gracie and Daisy with their parents, all start to run when they see the police come after the three girls at the Jigalong Depot.


 * 1) My impression of the police changes by the end of the film because when the parents of the three girls see the policeman carrying a gun approaching them, they carry their spears and walk towards him, but the policeman doesn’t shoot or anything, he just backs away.

= __ After watching the film __ =


 * 1) In my opinion the film was a bit emotional, especially when the girls get taken away and when Molly and Daisy return to Jigalong.

I didn’t really enjoy the film too much. To me it was a little boring and their wasn’t enough action for my liking.


 * 1) The key themes and issues in the film are to keep the film realistic by keeping in that time frame with all the old fashioned cars, and buildings and uniforms, and keeping the film true and factual.


 * 1) a) A film based on a true story about the stolen generations.

b) Rabbit Proof Fence is about three girls named Molly, Gracie and Daisy from Jigalong that get taken away to the Moore River Settlement. The film is sort of factual, trying to show what happened to Aboriginals in those days. It was filmed in the Flinders Ranges, Adelaide, not in Western Australia. What I learned in the film is what happened to Aboriginals, which is now known as the stolen generations.


 * 1) The genre of the film is film adaption, meaning that the film is based on a novel.


 * 1) There are many phases in the film, so a lot of medium shots and close-ups are used to show what the girls are going to have to face up ahead and how characters are feeling.


 * 1) The most surprising scene in the movie for me was when Gracie was waiting for a train at Minga and Molly calls her over. As she walks towards Molly and Daisy, a car comes roaring through and captures Gracie.


 * 1) Other films that Phillip Noyce has directed include Backroads, Dead Calm, Heatwave, Patriot Games, The Quiet American, The Saint, Salt, and Silver.


 * 1) I believe that the film was shot in Flinders Ranges, Adelaide, and not at Jigalong because Jigalong is a remote area.


 * 1) The cameramen used specific camera shots and lighting to show mood. When Molly, Gracie and Daisy are traveling to the Moore River Settlement in a cage on a train, a high angle shot is used to show that they are in control of the current situation. Also when Molly and Daisy are walking through the salt plains the screen turns pale, to show that the characters feel faint and seconds later they both collapse. Whenever the girls are threaten, they first show who is threatening them, then they show how and where the girls are hiding.

= __ Meeting Mavis __ =

1. Evidence that’s shows Mavis has a difficult life is that she was doing the washing and was told to hurry up.

2. Mavis was keen to help the girls because she had also been at the Moore River Settlement.

3. Mavis thought that her boss wouldn’t report the girls because she thought that he would understand the situation they were in.

4. Mavis rejects the option of running away because she knew that the police and the tracker are in the area.

Gillian

=Mr Neville, the Chief Protector of Aborgines =

· **Q –** IMAGINE YEARS LATER MOLLY MEETS WITH NEVILLE AND HAS A CHANCE TO ANSWER THESE JUSTIFICATIONS. WRITE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE TWO **.** **Molly:** *angry voice* Mr Neville, you have been making excuses throughout your entire career as ‘Chief Protector of Aboriginals’, and its time someone knocked some sense into you! Nothing can justify what you and the other whites did to us. According to you, us ‘half-castes’ and ‘quarter-castes’ were and ‘unwanted third race’, and you thought we should be ‘advanced to white status’. You thought ‘we needed help’ and we were your ‘special responsibility’. None of these statements justify what you did,- **Mr Neville:** Yes, but- **Molly:** -//you// may have had the opinion that we were an ‘unwanted third race’, but what about all of the mothers and possibly even fathers. They certainly wanted us. More importantly, what about us. We were subjected to your tortures. We were taken away from our home, told to forget our ways, and were trained, with absolutely no sympathy, to work as your servants! **Mr Neville:** But don't you see- **Molly:** //You// may have thought that we should be ‘advanced to white status’, but we liked the way we lived. We had family and food and shelter and were happy. But you took that all away from us. What did you think ‘advancing us to //white status//’ would do? Living on you reservations and training at your missions may have made us forget our traditions and heritage, but we would never be treated as equals in your society. If by ‘white status’ you mean laundry maids and scullery maids, or basically servants, then yeah, we have certainly been ‘advanced’ and had our lifestyles improved a //whole// lot. **Mr Neville:** I know that you may have- **Molly:** //You// may think that we ‘need to be helped because we can’t help ourselves’, but we are just fine on our own. When you took us away you weren’t even coming close to helping us. And we are //NOT// your ‘special responsibility’. We do not belong to anyone. We don't need to be given special treatment. We just need to be treated as equals, and to feel accepted, but you whites were too righteous and ignorant to realise that, weren’t you? **Mr Neville:** No. It was necessary to- **Molly:** Mr Neville, nothing can justify what you did. No matter how you twist it or phrase it, when you strip away the lies it brings us down to the facts. You ruined peoples’ lives. You may have thought what you were doing was appropriate, and only god knows why and how, but it wasn’t. You’re ‘solution’ alienated people. It broke hearts. It made people forget who they were. It ripped families apart. Because of you, I lost my sister. Because of you mothers lost their children. Because of you, people lost themselves. **Mr Neville:** ...oh. · WRITE OR EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENT REACTIONS THAT THESE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TONEVILLE’S VIEWS ON THE TREATMENT OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE HE DIFENES AS ‘halfe cast’ OR ‘quadroon’ **A – ONE OF THE WOMEN LISTENING TO HIS EXPLANATIONS)** Aaaah. What a smart gentleman. And so brave too. To take responsibility for these...these animals must take a tremendous effort. I agree completely with Mr Neville. These aborigines need to be assimilated bread out, and they need to learn our ways and adapt to the modern world. **B – ONE OF THE MOTHERS TRYING TO CONTACT THEIR CHILDREN)** You took my child away!! You monster! What you are doing is wrong and horrible. You ruin my life, my children’s life, and who knows how many others! You took my child away and still refuse to allow me to speak to them. How could you be so cruel as to deny a mother a chance to hear her child’s voice, or see her child’s face!? **C – MOLLY’S MOTHER)** Molly’s mother would hate Neville, just as much as any other mother who had their child taken away, and I think her reaction would be much like the reaction in answer **B)**. She would be sad and angry and hateful and agitated and would be feeling a whole lot more of negative emotions towards him. **D – MEMBERS OF YOUR CLASS WATCHING THE FILM)** We live in the modern world, and have completely different views on Aboriginal people and how they should be treated. If everybody in the class has the same opinion as me, then everyone would be disgusted at how he treated them, and would strongly oppose his views. **E – GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKERS TODAY)** Government policy makers nowadays would not be allowed to even consider enforcing //half// the things that Neville did. They would be disgusted and appalled with his opinions, and would be completely against his actions.

· WHY WOULD PEOPLE TODAY SAY THAT SOME OF NEVILLES POLICIES WERE RACIST? Well, they //were// racist. He viewed them, not as people, but as pests, that needed to be gotten rid of, and acted on his views. People today have a completely different on Aborigines than they did back then. · WHAT WERE HIS POLICIES AND OFFICIAL DUTIES? A. O. Neville was appointed ‘Chief Protector of Aborigines’. That made if the legal guardian of //every// Aboriginal and part Aboriginal child under 16 in Western Australia. His duties were ‘//take the children young and bring them up in a way that will establish their self-respect, make them useful units in the community and fit to live in it, according to its standards’//. He also had the right to either deny or accept requests from part and Aboriginals. He was in control of whether they could marry, whether a mother could visit her ‘half-caste’ child in a mission, and he could even decide of they got a new pair of shoes. · WHY WAS HE IMPLEMENTING A POLICY OF REMOVAL OF ‘half caste’ CHILDREN? The authorities believed it was for their own good. They thought that by taking them away from their ‘dirty’, ‘savage’ environment and bring them up in a ‘clean’, ‘sophisticated’ environment, they were doing them a favour. It was also so that they could try to start to assimilate the aboriginal people into the white society. · O UTLINE NEVILLE’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE GIRLS. DOES IT CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF THE FILM? GIVE SOME EXAMPLES OF WORDS AND ACTIONS THAT INDICATE THIS CHANGE. At the beginning of the film he just sees them as another few charges, and treats like any other Aboriginals. When they run away I think he sees them as a nuisance, but isn’t too worried because he has been through this many times before – the children run away, but they are always found and brought back. But when the tracker, Moodoo, fails to recapture them time and time again, he becomes more anxious. His department’s reputation is at risk, and also his money. He evens admits that ‘//just because people use Neolithic tools, Inspector, does not mean they have Neolithic minds’.// · HOW WOULD YOU JUDGE NEVILLE. CAN HE BE SEEN AS A PRODUCT OF HIS SOCIETY AND ITS VALUES, OR ARE THE DECISIONS HE MADE UNIVERSALLY WRONG? YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER SOME OF HIS OWN WORDS (above) IN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION. The things that Neville did were wrong, and are considered wrong today, but he grew up in a completely different society and was taught to view things in a certain way. At the time, it was not considered wrong to take aboriginal children away from their families, because he didn’t see it like that. From his point of view he was doing the right thing by trying to teach them white customs so they could contribute to the community. He might have seen what he was doing as noble, although now we know it was far from it.

=When the Children Were Taken =

· IN YOUR OWN WORDS, DESCRIBE THE SCENE WHEN THE CHILDREN ARE TAKEN AND HOW THE TENSION IS BUILT UP. COMMENT ON HOW YOU FEEL, THE MUSIC, THE REACTIONS OF THE CHILDREN AND WOMEN. HOW DO THE SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC ADD TO THE FEELINGS OF FEAR AND CONFUSION? HOW IS THE PANIC OF THE GIRLS CONVEYED? Molly, Gracie and Daisy are sitting around, whilst their mothers are getting their rations, a completely normal type of day. But then a car comes crashing in, and that’s not normal at all. You hear a camel moaning, and when their mothers realise what is going on, they start yelling and screaming and running, and the music comes in. Fast drum beats that get your heart racing. Soon the car catches up to them and cuts them off. The fast, short camera movements give the effect of a confusing situation and there is confusion and panic as Riggs picks up off the girls, one by one. He tries to reason with them ‘//I've got the papers’, ‘it’s the law’.// Riggs grabs Gracie first, and dumps her in the car, threatening to put her mother in gaol if she runs. He then gets Daisy and puts her with Gracie, all the while everyone is yelling and wailing. ‘//This is my kids! MINE!’// they yell. Molly fought the most. She thrashed and yelled in Riggs arms, trying to get away, but eventually he succeeds. Inside the car the camera is from the girls’ point of view. You see the mothers and grandmother hitting against the glass, which gives the audience an eerie feeling of being trapped. As the car is driving away the mothers chase after it, but soon collapse, wailing, and the last drum beat ends on a view of the girls, looking back at their home. · HOW DOES THE FILM DEPICT THE ANGUISH OF THE MOTHERS WHOSE CHILDREN ARE TAKEN? ALSO CONSIDER THE ACTING, THE SETTINGS, THE SOUND EFFECTS AND THE USE OF SYBOLISM **.** The mothers are always wailing or moaning, singing or chanting some sort of prayer. The acting is important too. Molly’s mother is always looking off into the distance, as if waiting for them to appear on the horizon. In one of the scenes later in the movie when Molly and Daisy are almost home, you see her holding onto the fence, as if that was all she had left of her children, and maybe it might strengthen them. I think it she did it because it was comforting knowing that some hundreds of kilometres away her children were on that exact same fence. In the scenes where we see the mothers we usually see a close up of Molly and Daisy’s mother’s and/or grandmother’s faces to enhance the anguish, longing and other emotions they feel. There is either dramatic, sad music in the background or no music at all. I think they did this to focus on the despair and other emotions of the mothers. · WRITE A DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENE THROUGH THE EYES OF EITHER MOLLY, ONE OF THE MOTHERS, OR RIGGS, THE POLICE OFFICER **.** **Molly)** I was watching Daisy and Gracie playing when I heard it. The low moan of the camel caught my attention first, but I soon saw a car drive in and drive over a bunch of wire. That got everyone’s attention. That policeman got out, Mr Riggs, and stomped over to look at it. Something was wrong. What was he doing here? I didn’t have time to answer that question because then mother and auntie were screaming and yelling at us to run. They went and grabbed Daisy and Gracie and soon we were all sprinting away. My heart was racing and nothing made sense. What? Why? And then it clicked. He was here for us. I could hear him gaining on us, and soon he was in front of us, cutting us off. I backed away quickly behind mother, frozen. He was going to take us away to that horrible Moore River place. He couldn't do that. I wouldn’t let him. I grabbed for Gracie as he pulled her away. Everyone was wailing and crying, even me. It was too confusing. Mother was trying to push me back, and I was pulling Daisy whilst she was being pulled away. He came for me next. I tried to get away but he wouldn’t let go, and he thrust me in the car. Daisy, Gracie and I were trying to get out, but Auntie and Mother were trying to get in. Too confusing. Too much panic and fear. I wanted it to stop. Mr Riggs was yelling at us to keep quiet as he sped away, taking us with him. Mother and Auntie fell to the ground, and I watched them rock and moan, as I was being taken away from my home. · WHY DO YOU THINK THE GRANDMOTHER WOULD HAVE HIT HERSELF WITH A STONE? Maybe as some sort of punishment and/or tradition. · RECORD HOW YOU THINK EACH OF THE CHILDREN WOULD HAVE BEEN FEELING AS THY WERE LOCKED UP IN THE TRAIN **.** Gracie, Daisy and Molly would all be feeling scared, trapped and exposed at the same time. I think Gracie and Daisy would be the most confused, seeing as they are the youngest. I think Molly would be feeling helpless. As the oldest I think she feels responsible for Daisy and Gracie, but she can’t do anything about it because she is locked in a cage, on a moving train, constantly getting farther and farther from their home.

**Terry's Questions!**

Jigalong Depot: Jot down some words used to describe Jigalong Depot and share your images to form a class description. Old, dusty, small, isolated and run down etc. Why were depots like this established throughout Australia with Aboriginal Protectors? The depots were established all over Australia to help Aboriginals in their life. Find out why it was necessary for the government to hand out blankets, tobacco and flour. It was necessary for the government to hand out blankets, tobacco and flour because they wanted a relationship with them.

<span style="display: block; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">Arrival at the Moore River Native Settlement: Write or explain how each girl felt as they arrived at the Moore River Settlement. Molly, Gracie, and Daisy felt scared and frightened as to what happens at the settlement. They also feel nervous as to what will happen next and what will happen to them. How might they have reacted to seeing the nun for the first time? They were frightened of seeing the nun for the first time when they arrived at the settlement. What are your impressions of the conditions at the Settlement? My impressions of the settlement are that the condition of it is poor and un-welcoming. The small compartment they were put in to be not very spacious, as well as dirty. Why do you think that some children just accepted the fate, whereas others were desperate to escape? I think some people just accepted the fate of being in the settlement was that because they knew escaping was impossible for them as they didn’t want to be whipped upon arrival. Some others were desperate to escape because they probably could not have coped with the conditions of the settlement. What were the consequences for those who escaped and were caught by the tracker? The consequences of being caught by the tracker were that you would be whipped as well as their hair shaven off. How did Molly, Daisy and Gracie learn what was expected of them at the mission? They learnt what was expected from them by watching the fellow kids being punished. Why would they have been denied the right to speak in their own language? They were meant to be like the white’s and speak their language not their own. What kinds of activities were the children involved in to ‘Civilize and Christianize’ them? The activities the children were involved in were attending Church in the morning, saying their prayers and singing songs. <span style="display: block; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">The Escape: What happened to Olive when she was caught? Olive was taken to a little shed to be whipped, and then have her hair shaven off. Why do you think Molly decided she should lead their escape? Molly decided that she should lead their escape because she was the oldest and had the most maturity. She had good hunting skills and knowledge to out-smart the tracker. Why do you think Gracie was reluctant to go? Why might she have changed her mind? Gracie was reluctant to go because she had seen the punishments you have to under-go if they were caught. She changed her mind because she wanted to keep close with Molly and Daisy. How is music used in the escape scene to heighten the atmosphere? The music is very fast paced which makes you edgy and anxious for their escape. <span style="display: block; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">The Black Tracker: Consider the role of Moodoo, the Aboriginal tracker. Do you think that he could have found the girls if he really wanted to? What reason may he have had for not wanting to find them? I think that he could have found them, but had a feeling not to because his own daughter was at the Settlement, as well as a feeling of sadness. Do you think Moodoo gives up on searching for the girls? Why or why not? He gave up on searching for the girls because he didn’t care if they go away because he probably felt happy for the girls on escaping and making it this far without getting caught. <span style="display: block; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">Survival on the Journey Home: How do you think each of the girls might have been feeling after they first escaped? They probably would have been feeling a little bit scared of being caught but also a sense of relief and freedom from leaving that place. How would their moods and feelings changed as the journey continued? They would have been scared and happy throughout the journey. Scared because that the tracker would have captured them, but happy because they had gone far and achieved many things. Why would Mr. Neville have been so keen to keep news of the escape out of the paper? Because he knew that their reputation would be heavily damaged of not capturing 3 girls, and that he would also be humiliated. What might have motivated the woman at the farm to give children clothes and food, but inform the authorities of their whereabouts? Her children might have motivated the give the children food but she told the authorities of their whereabouts because she probably is on Mr. Neville’s side as well as she probably wanted them captured. Identify the various strategies that she uses to survive and pursue their journey to the end. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Molly stops at areas where there are food to keep Gracie, Daisy and herself energy to keep on going, making sure not to give tracks away on where there are and she is aware of what to do depending on the surroundings. **

Why did Gracie want to run off to Wiluna? To catch the train.

Why did the girls subsequently follow her there? Because they wanted to convince Gracie to change her mind and to walk with them to Jigalong.

Why do you think she was caught? Because the men on the horses in the backround might have told the police.

The final scenes of the film have a very powerful impact on the viewer.

Why do you think Riggs withdraws from the womens camp? Because he is wary of Maude and he dosent want to become injured.

Do you think Neville has changed his views at all? I don't think he did, judging by the way he continued taking half-caste children from their homes and families.

Write a short storyline describing the sequence of events in the closing scenes of the film. Molly and Daisy emerge from the bushes and shrubs to see their family emerging from the campsite. A smile spreads across their faces as ther race to their family, relieved to finally be home As they embrace one another, emotions start to show. Molly and Maude start crying, as Molly cries "I lost one. I lost one". Scene fades to black