Black Princesses or Domestic Servants

Abstract

The tragic history of the colonial settlement of Australia is well known. Colonial authorities viewed Australia’s first people as an impediment to settlement and developed oppressive strategies to displace Indigenous Australians from their land.¹ Indigenous Australian children became a vehicle to transform resistance to the colonial endeavour because hey were particularly vulnerable to exploitation by the authorities. Throughout the colonial period Indigenous children were removed from family and community and subjected to harsh training and work practices. In sharp contrast to this history, colonial narratives intended for child readers suggest that colonial benevolence would enhance the lives of Indigenous children. This chapter examines the representation of Indigenous Australian girlhood in three children’s stories. I critically examine how the colonial discourse positions readers to understand Indigenous girlhood to show how notions of black ‘princesses’ mask an imperial agenda of domestic servitude for Indigenous Australian girls.