From Dreamtime to Nightmare: The voices of 168 Aboriginal (ex-)prisoners in New South Wales

Abstract

The data presented in this paper form part of an action-research project commissioned jointly by the New South Wales Department of Corrective Services and the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in 1985. The major aims of this research were to investigate the chief causes and the rate of Aboriginal recidivism as well as making recommendations as to what kind of post-release support schemes would prove efficient, effective and useful. In the course of the research, the archival records of 154 Aboriginal prisoners released from New South Wales gaols during the first six months of 1983 were analysed. Furthermore, 30 New South Wales State Government Officers and Aboriginal service providers as well as 68 Aboriginal ex-inmates and 100 Aboriginal inmates were interviewed. The information presented in this paper is based mainly on an analysis of some answers given to us by the 68 Aboriginal ex-inmates and 100 Aboriginal inmates. The 68 Aboriginal ex-inmates interviewed resided in Canberra, Grafton, Maitland, Queanbeyan and Sydney. The interviews with the 100 Aboriginal prisoners were held in the following prisons: Bathurst, Cessnock, Glen Innes, Goulburn, Grafton, Maitland, Mulawa, Long Bay and Oberon.