The Wire

South Australia was settled as a private land venture in 1836 and the British government was adamant that unlike others this colony would do the right thing by the Aboriginal people who were to be displaced. Aboriginal people were to be able to retain 20 percent of the land and were to be treated equally under British law. It all quickly fell apart as greedy settlers moved further and further afield. However the agreement that set it up, the Letters Patent, still exists and author of “One Law for All’ Alan Pope says it represents a moral and possibly legal reminder of the original land rights deal.