The Perth Prohibited Area was an area of the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

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 wholly within the boundaries of the

City of Perth A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. The ban was instigated by

A. O. Neville Auber Octavius Neville (20 November 1875 – 18 April 1954) was a British-Australian public servant, notably Chief Protector of Aborigines, in Western Australia. Early life Born in Northumberland, England, Neville emigrated to Victoria, ...

, the protector of Aborigines, and proclaimed under the ''Aborigines Act 1905 (WA)'' in 1927. Aboriginal people working in the city had to leave by 6pm or face the threat of arrest and a fine, or in some cases a custodial sentence. The edict was actively enforced, with the records of the Central Police Office showing 78 indigenous people charged from July 1949 to February 1950. 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.

References

{{reflist History of Perth, Western Australia History of Indigenous Australians Anti-indigenous racism in Australia

See also

References