Australian Indigenous Ministries
Australian Indigenous Ministries, formerly Aborigines Inland Mission of Australia (both AIM), is an interdenominational Christian organisation that provides ministries to Aboriginal Australians. Aborigines Inland Mission of Australia was established in 1905, and ran many Aboriginal missions across Australia, including the Retta Dixon Home in Darwin, Northern Territory, St Clair Mission in Singleton, New South Wales.
The Aborigines Inland Mission published two monthly newsletters, Our AIM and The Australian Evangel.
The organisation re-branded to Australian Indigenous Ministries in 1998.
History
The Petersham Christian Endeavour Society built a house at
Soon after opening approved to build missions in Queensland and Western Australia.[4] She married Leonard Long and around 1909, AIM set up a centre at Herberton in Far North Queensland.[5] It created its first Indigenous training college by 1938.[1]
Management
By 1906 AIM had ten
The Australia Indigenous Mission Church took responsibility for things such as the appointment of pastors, the handling of properties, and oversight of a bible school based in Rockhampton which provided short-term and long-term courses in a number of centres.[7] Each mission was run independently.[1]
Retta Dixon Home
AIM began working in the
During the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2015,[9] it was found that AIM did not provide sufficient training to its staff on how to detect or respond to allegations of child sexual abuse.[10] Compensation was initially awarded to 71 people in a 2017 out-of-court settlement.[11] Since then, at least ten people have applied for compensation under the Australian Government's National Redress Scheme (NRS), which was set up for people who have experienced institutional child abuse. However the government has prevented Australian Indigenous Ministries (AIM) from being a participant in the NRS, for the stated reason that the group cannot afford to pay out potential claimants. There is a possibility that funding could be drawn from a government body, as a "funder of last resort", during the 2021 review of the scheme. Claimants and the AIM are exploring ways in which AIM could make a meaningful apology to survivors of abuse suffered at the home.[12]
St Clair Mission
St Clair Mission was located between
It was closed in 1918 when it taken over by the
Singleton Aboriginal Children's Home
Singleton was used for both females and males from birth up to the age of 14. The Aborigines Protection Board used it to place children removed from stations and reserves until 1920.[16]
Aborigines Inland Mission Bible Training College
The Aborigines Inland Mission Bible Training College was located in Minimbah House, and opened in 1953 to replace the Native Workers' Training College. Its goal was to provide Baptist ministry for Indigenous teenagers and young people from all over Australia. It closed in 1973.[17]
Teachings
Their philosophy was exclusively Protestant with a generally conservative outlook and evangelical nature. They focused on being nonconformist, the primacy of the bible and personal salvation.[1] AIM did not involve themselves with organisations that took the children who became the Stolen Generations; their only concern was salvation, and assisting those who were "eager to read God's word".[6]
The main mission of AIM was the salvation and expanding the Biblical knowledge of those who were "eager to read God's word',[6] with a particular emphasis placed on preaching, teaching, and applying the word of God.The foundational belief of the AIM was that teaching life skills, providing better health and education, as well as having the ability to resist temptation and trouble would build a better Aboriginal Christian community. Some missionaries undertook a teaching role to create Indigenous Christian following. Other missionaries decided to walk around communities visiting small groups and families some walking thousands of kilometres each year.[7]
Retta Dixon said that within the organisation's 30-year history up to 1935 that there had been 11,000 people under their spiritual care, 35 centres, 100 outposts and 106 "agents at work".[1]
Publications
The Australian Inland Mission published two monthly newsletters: Our AIM and The Australian Evangel, targeting different readerships. Our AIM (also referred to as just AIM) targeted evangelical European Australians, and promoted AIM's work within Aboriginal communities. It was published from 1907 until at least May 1961. Evangel targeted mainly Aboriginal people, spruiking the benefits of a evangelical Christian beliefs, and was published from before 1930 until at least September 1966.[6]
Back copies of both of these publications are available for free perusal on the
Today
The organisation re-branded to Australian Indigenous Ministries in 1998.[12]
Australian Indigenous Ministries is an interdenominational Christian organisation that provides ministries to Aboriginal Australians.[19][20]
Locations
Australian Indigenous Missionaries had Longs' Children, St Clair Mission, Singleton House, Native Workers' Training and the Singleton Bible Training Institute.[4] Missionaries were placed in major centres like Darwin and Alice Springs or in Aboriginal communities and outback towns.[7]
The Orphan House was opened on 14 August 1907, transferred to another organisation in 1918 and closed in 1923.[1]
The mission stations were established in the following locations:[4]
New South Wales
- Singleton
- Karuah
- Yass
- Brungle
- Warangesda
- Cummeragunja
- Walcha
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Inkpin, Cathleen (19 October 2011). "Making their gospel known: the work and legacy of the Aboriginal Inland Mission 1905-1938" (PDF). University of Sydney.
- ^ "History". Australian Indigenous Ministries. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Aborigines' Inland Mission newsletters". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Aborigines Inland Mission - Summary | Find & Connect". www.findandconnect.gov.au. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ a b "History". Australian Indigenous Ministries. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ AIATSIS. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "History". Australian Indigenous Ministries. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Retta Dixon Home (1946 - 1982)". Find and Connect. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "Case Study 17, September 2014, Darwin". Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Australian Government. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "Findings released into the Retta Dixon Home in Darwin". Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ Brennan, Bridget; Dias, Avani (30 March 2017). "Abuse survivors welcome compensation settlement over Retta Dixon home in Darwin". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC News. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ a b Gordon, Oliver (20 January 2021). "Survivor seeks apology and demands Federal Government action over abuse claims at Retta Dixon Home in Darwin". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "St Clair Aboriginal Mission - Summary". Find & Connect. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ a b "St Clair mission, church school, cultural park". A History of Aboriginal Sydney. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Aboriginal History". Singleton Council. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Singleton Aboriginal Children's Home - Summary". Find & Connect. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Aborigines Inland Mission Bible Training College - Summary". Find & Connect. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- SLNSW. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Vision". Australian Indigenous Ministries. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Statement of faith". Australian Indigenous Ministries. Retrieved 12 April 2020.