Auber Octavius Neville's No Sugar: Breakdown Of Aboriginal Society

Of all factors that contributed to the breakdown of Aboriginal society, it was perhaps ignorance on behalf of the white population that directly led to a breakdown in understanding between the two groups, and destroyed hopes effective assimilation to create an egalitarian Australia. In No Sugar, ignorance is a recurring pattern, with white characters consistently showing a lack of respect towards Aboriginal society, especially those in positions of power refusing to acknowledge the complex, albeit unorthodox, structures and systems present within Aboriginal society that had been in operation for generations. Auber Octavius Neville, who exists in the occupation of the ‘Chief Protector of Aborigines’ both in the play and historically, best displays
Furthermore, an understanding of the Aborigines Act (1905) shows that one of the fundamental purposes of the Chief Protector and Aborigines department is to “…promot[e] the welfare of the Aborigines, providing them with food, clothing, medicine and medicinal attendance, when they would otherwise be destitute” (AA, S6). As such it can be concluded that, despite what he claims, Neville has failed in his role as a ‘protector’ both literally and legally, and, again, he shows ignorance to such failure. As a result, a contemporary critical and creative is able to identify that the ignorance and condescending nature of the white characters in the text as a microcosm for early 20th century Australian society at large, whose refusal to accept Indigenous culture as legitimate contributed to it’s eventual decline, and would give rise to future racism and inequity within Australia, impeding our ability to grow as an egalitarian nation. A reader is then able contrast this with our tolerant and accepting society of today, and, thus, look upon the time with