The great-grandson of Australia’s second prime minister has apologized to Aboriginal Australians for the harm inflicted by his ancestor.
Peter Sharp, a descendant of Alfred Deakin, believes his great-grandfather’s role in making the devastating Stolen Generations possible has been downplayed.
The revelation was heard at Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission, which is investigating allegations of mistreatment of Aboriginal people since colonisation.
Sharp said he had grown up believing his famous ancestor was a “wonderful man”, “a storyteller” and a “funny” person, but discovered the truth in 2017.
“To all the viewers, who have been and continue to be affected by the introduction of laws and policies in which a member of my family played such a significant role, I am personally and deeply sorry,” he said.
‘It was a shock to learn that removal attempts (on First Nations people) continued after the border violence subsided, and I say ‘subsided’ because it probably hasn’t ended.
“It was an even bigger shock when I came across evidence indicating that a member of my own family had allowed the expungement attempt to become law.”
The great-grandson of Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second prime minister, has apologised on behalf of his ancestor for the harm he inflicted on Aboriginal Australians.
Peter Sharp, a descendant of Alfred Deakin, believes his great-grandfather’s role in enabling the devastating Stolen Generations has been downplayed.
Mr Deakin was a young minister in the Victorian government that passed the Aborigines Protection Act of 1886.
Commonly known as the Mixed Castes Act, it sought to remove children of mixed Aboriginal and European heritage from indigenous communities to be raised by the state.
Victorian law was imitated in various forms by the English colonies then existing throughout Australia before federation in 1901.
The practice of removing children from Aboriginal communities has been referred to as the Stolen Generation, and many studies have attested to the impact it had on Aboriginal families then and in the future..
Mr Sharp said Deakin had played a pivotal role in “the beginning of the Stolen Generations” after helping to pass the Aborigines Protection Act 1886.
Mr Sharp believes Deakin, then Victoria’s Chief Secretary, had deliberately destroyed the state’s Aboriginal population to create a “white Australia”.
“I believe that now, after almost 140 years, the evidence shows that Deakin played a key role in ensuring that the critical element of the 1886 Act was to categorically deny any Aboriginal people of mixed heritage the right to be recognised as Aboriginal and, furthermore, to forcibly deny them contact with those considered to be Aboriginal, thereby destroying their culture, kinship and language,” he said.
“I think the evidence shows that his intention was to never let it be known and that he hid his hand in every way possible. Suddenly, I realized that he really meant it. It was deliberate.”
The Yoorrook Justice Commission is due to submit a report to the state government in June 2025 that will include recommendations for reform.
This comes as Australia’s first treaty negotiations between the Victorian government and the Assembly of First Peoples are set to begin in November.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Helpline 13YARN on 13 92 76