Perth Prohibited Area

Restricted area in Perth, Western Australia

The Perth Prohibited Area was an area of the metropolitan area in Perth, Western Australia that Aboriginal people were not permitted to enter without a permit. The prohibition was in force from 1927 to 1954, and covered approximately 5 square miles (13 km2) wholly within the boundaries of the City of Perth. The ban was instigated by A. O. Neville, the protector of Aborigines, and proclaimed under the Aborigines Act 1905 (WA) in 1927.[1][2][3][4]

Aboriginal people working in the city had to leave by 6pm or face the threat of arrest and a fine,[5][6][7] or in some cases a custodial sentence.[8][9] The edict was actively enforced, with the records of the Central Police Office showing 78 indigenous people charged from July 1949 to February 1950.[10] The historian Stephen Kinnane has suggested that Neville did not like the fact that Aboriginals were beating white Australians at competitive events held in White City.[10][11]

## See also

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* Aboriginal history of Western Australia
* Sundown town, the American equivalent

## References

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1. ^ "NEWS AND NOTES". The West Australian. Vol. XLIII, no. 7, 737. Western Australia. 19 March 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
2. ^ "Perth's Prohibited Area". Culture WA. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
3. ^ "BAN ON NATIVES". The West Australian. Vol. 53, no. 15, 914. Western Australia. 30 June 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
4. ^ Collard, Leonard; Jones, Tod (2014), Fighting For Families, Country, Rights and Recognition: Aboriginal Heritage in the City of Perth After 1829, Brown Cow Design (designer), City of Perth, retrieved 20 August 2020
5. ^ "LAW COURTS". The West Australian. Vol. 63, no. 18, 867. Western Australia. 2 January 1947. p. 14 (SECOND EDITION.). Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
6. ^ "PROHIBITED AREA". The West Australian. Vol. 62, no. 18, 822. Western Australia. 9 November 1946. p. 11. Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
7. ^ "IN PROHIBITED AREA". The West Australian. Vol. 64, no. 19, 265. Western Australia. 14 April 1948. p. 13. Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
8. ^ "NATIVES GAOLED". The West Australian. Vol. 63, no. 18, 978. Western Australia. 13 May 1947. p. 12 (SECOND EDITION.). Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
9. ^ "LAW COURTS". The West Australian. Vol. 64, no. 19, 287. Western Australia. 10 May 1948. p. 17. Retrieved 20 August 2020 - via National Library of Australia.
10. ^ a b Carmody, Rebecca (29 December 2019). "The little-known story of when Perth banned Indigenous people from the city and suburbs". ABC News.
11. ^ Connolly, Anthony J; University of Western Australia. Law School (1991), White city : a critical legal history of the prohibited area proclamation and pass system in the Perth area 1927-1954, retrieved 20 August 2020