Library Information - Reading: Jasper Jones

Craig Silvey grew up on an orchard in Dwellingup, a small town in timber and fruit-growing lands in in south-west Western Australia.

Silvery wrote his first novel, Rhubarb, when he was nineteen: it was published in 2004. The novel was the inaugural book for the 'One Book' series of events at the 2005 Perth International Arts Festival.

National service was brought back for a fourth time in 1964, and in May 1965 the Liberal government introduced new powers that enabled it to send national servicemen overseas. At that time Australian soldiers were involved with the war in Vietnam, and the Menzies government wished to raise the army's numbers to 40,000 in order to meet overseas commitments.

Harold Edward Holt was born in Sydney in 1908 and was elected to the Federal seat of Fawkner in 1935. He became Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party on the retirement of Sir Robert Menzies in January 1966. Holt's term as Prime Minister was characterised by strong support for United States’ involvement in the Vietnam war, and a stunning 1966 election win on a pro-Vietnam platform.

The disappearance – 17 December 1967
Harold Holt disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria on 17 December, 1967. His body was never recovered.

On 23 December 1901, the Immigration Restriction Act came into law. It had been among the first pieces of legislation introduced to the newly formed federal parliament.
The legislation was specifically designed to limit non-British migration to Australia and allowed for the deportation of ‘undesirable’ people who had settled in any Australian colony prior to federation.
It represented the formal establishment of the ‘White Australia policy’.

The Migration Act 1966 established legal equality between British, European and non-European migrants to Australia.
These changes to immigration policy were some of the most significant steps towards the formation of multicultural Australia.

White Australia policy, formally Immigration Restriction Act of 1901, in Australian history, fundamental legislation of the new Commonwealth of Australia that effectively stopped all non-European immigration into the country and that contributed to the development of a racially insulated white society. It reflected a long-standing and unifying sentiment of the various Australian colonies and remained a fundamental government policy into the mid-20th century.

The Aborigines Act 1905 (Act no. 1905/014 (5 Edw. VII No.14) was reserved for Royal assent on 23 December 1905 and commenced in April 1906. It was 'An Act to make provision for the better protection and care of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia.' It governed the lives of all Aboriginal people in Western Australia for nearly 60 years. The Act created the position of Chief Protector of Aborigines who became the legal guardian of every Aboriginal child to the age of 16 years, and permitted authorities to 'send and detain' Aboriginal children in institutions and in 'service' (work). The Aborigines Act 1905 was repealed by the Native Welfare Act 1963 on 1 July 1964.

Stolen Generations is a term that refers to Australian children, mainly of mixed Aboriginal and European descent, who were taken from their homes by Australian governments. The removals started in about 1870 and lasted until about 1970. Thousands of children were separated from their families and placed in institutions, missions, and foster homes. In many cases, all ties between parents and children ended once they were separated.

The historically significant gesture of pouring of a handful of red soil by Gough Whitlam into Vincent Lingiari’s hand on 16 August 1975, symbolised the legal transfer of Wave Hill station back to the Gurindji people. It also meant the Gurindji became the first Aboriginal community to have land returned to them by the Commonwealth Government and would be a turning point - the start of the Aboriginal land rights movement for the rest of Indigenous Australia, that continues even today.