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The Burnum Burnum Declaration of 26 January 1988

The Burnum Burnum Declaration of 26 January 1988

26 January 1988 - DOVER - I, Burnum Burnum of the Wurundjeri Tribe, do hereby take possession of England on behalf of the Aboriginal Crown of Australia.

In so doing we wish no harm to you natives, but assure you that we are here to bring you good manners, refinement and an opportunity to make ‘a fresh start’.

At the end of two hundred years, we will make a Treaty to signify occupation by peaceful means and not by conquest.

For the more intelligent we bring the complex language of the Pitjantjatjara, teach you how to have a spiritual relationship with the Earth and show you how to get bush tucker.

We do not intend to souvenir, pickle and preserve the heads of 2000 of your people, nor to publicly display the skeletal remains of your Royal Highness, as was done to our Queen Truganinni for 80 years. Neither do we intend to poison your water holes, lace your bread with strychnine or introduce you to highly toxic drugs.

We acknowledge the need to preserve the Caucasian race as of interest to antiquity, although we may be inclined to conduct experiments by measuring the size of your skulls for levels of intelligence. We pledge not to sterilise your young women.

We solemnly promise not to make quarry of England and export your valuable minerals back to the old country Australia, but to encourage Earth Repair Action to unite people, communities and religions in a common, productive, peaceful purpose.

Finally, we give an absolute undertaking that you shall not be placed onto the mentality of government handouts for the next five generations but you will enjoy the full benefits of Aboriginal equality.

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