Letter to The Editor - There are grounds for believing that our continent has experienced several invasions in the past

To The Australian         Yingiya Guyula is a champion of his Yolngu culture and deserves respect for that ("Our culture is not to blame for all this violence", 3/2). However, he seems to be too ready to blame others for "violence and abuse" in Aboriginal communities. Those who misbehave must take personal responsibility for their actions; and it does seem that some aspects of Aboriginal culture are not helpful in the present time. Moreover, Guyula's references to "foreign solutions" and "colonisation" suggest that he is approaching the issue of Aboriginal welfare in a separatist spirit which is, rightly, anathema to very many Australians. Finally, his description of his society as one "that has existed since time began" is questionable. There are grounds for believing that our continent has experienced several invasions in the past. The ancestors of some Aboriginals may have been much more recent arrivals than is at present widely believed.
  Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic