nooleen
bad ape
Guilty of being Aboriginal
The first charge on Walsh’s police record is his removal from his family. Under ‘offence’ it states “care/protection application”, and under ‘sentence’ it says “committed to care of Child Welfare Services”. His removal was also listed as a conviction on a Victoria Police Criminal History Sheet from 1971, under the heading ‘Record of Convictions against WALSH: Larry.’
Research by Woor-Dungin volunteer Elizabeth Proctor, and by Law Professor Bronwyn Naylor from RMIT University, showed it was standard practice until 1989 for children to get a police record for being removed from their family.