Wards,Words and Citizens: A.P. Elkin and Paul Hasluck on Assimilation1

This paper explores some of the ambivalences and contestations within assimilationist discourses in mid-twentieth century Australia. It focuses on the writings of A. P. Elkin, using Paul Hasluck's utterances mainly insofar as they throw Elkin's arguments into sharper relief. While Hasluck's version of assimilation was based on the assumptions of liberal individualism, Elkin drew upon ideas of cultural progress and social anthropology (among other intellectual currents) to propound a less totalising form of assimilation, wherein the attainment of citizenship could be reconciled with the retention of Aboriginal identity and cultural distinctiveness. Even so, Elkin had misgivings about cultural diversity and insisted on the need for expert scientific management in attaining the recommended reconciliation.