Missions Connect

In Western Australia, missions run by the government, and later religious organisations, were places that Stolen Generation people were taken to be confined, educated and denied their Aboriginality. Between 1905 and 1963, when removal legislation was repealed in Western Australia, there were 47 missions established. Although a small number lasted only a few years – others such as New Norcia were active for over 126 years. While these are sorrowful places for Stolen Generation Survivors, they are still important as a ‘homeland’ that carry an ambivalent mix of memories, emotions, and experience. 

Mission sites have been identified as useful places for the healing of members of the Stolen Generation, though there are significant issues in accessing these places. Access to many sites is limited due to administrative and political problems, geographical isolation or ill health restricting survivors travel. Many mission sites are deteriorating at an accelerating rate that outstrips attempts to raise funding to conserve them. While heritage conservation is certainly most desirable, Virtual Reality (VR) offers an alternative and unique platform to substitute for physical access in attempts to help Stolen Generation Survivors and their families counter the damaging effects of child removal programs.

This first-of-its-kind Missions Connect will benefit the Western Australian community by creating a new way to engage with and learn about WA Stolen Generations history; enabling the Aboriginal partner organisations and others to use the VR tool in educational and healing programs; and providing Aboriginal communities with an innovative digital strategy for managing their cultural heritage assets.

VR mission environments are not physically dependent, can be accessed globally and can provide a safe environment enhanced by shared experience with communally generated content. In a virtual environment historical and other data can be enriched by Survivors and documentary sources.

This enables a scaffolded approach to healing for the Aboriginal community through learning and discovering about their families, their communities and the forces that have shaped their lives.