| The
Awabakal people who worked as consultants and contributors on the
Awaba project wish to make it clear that their personal approval
of, and participation in the Awaba project, does not guarantee the
support and authorisation of the entire local Aboriginal community.
The editors of the Aboriginal Missions and Reserves Historical Database
(AMRHD) have undertaken to remain open
to consultation with all other parties interested in or affected
by the content of this site.
The digital presentation of historical materials
raises a number of issues. Though all the historical resources
presented here are, to varying degrees, "on the public record",
the AMRHD editors accept that their publication on the WWW is
vastly different to their being housed in libraries and archival
collections. All care has been taken to avoid the reproduction
of culturally restricted material, or material that jeopardises
Aboriginal sacred and significant sites.
It is also most important to recognise that
the historical materials relating to the Awabakal are reflections
of the social and cultural ideologies of the period in which they
were written. Such documents need to be analysed by critiquing
what we now recognise as out-dated and unsupported theories of
human difference according to race, and notions of "primitivity"
that may be reflected within them. One of the advantages of this
electronic gateway is that these historical materials may be prefaced
with contextual and critical comments, accommodating the understandings
of the Awabakal community and the views of contemporary academics
and experts.
It should be understood that Awaba has been
established as an ongoing concern, amendable to corrections and
contributions. The editors welcome any inquiries, suggestions
or material that may expand and enhance an understanding of Aboriginal
society in the Newcastle-Lake Macquarie region. The AMRHD editors,
and individual contributors, can be reached from the CONTACT
US page.
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