Dawn (magazine)

For similarly named periodicals, see Dawn (disambiguation) § Magazines and newspapers.

Dawn
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherAboriginal Protection Board (1952–1969)
Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare (1970–1975)
Founded1952 (1952)
Final issue1975 (1975)
CountryAustralia
Based inSydney
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0416-8003

Dawn was an Australian magazine created by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board and aimed at Aboriginal Australians.[1][2][3] It ran monthly from January 1952 until December 1968. Two issues were published in 1969, before the disbanding of the Aboriginal Welfare Board led to the publication ceasing.[4]

In 1953, E. J. Morgan, manager of Moree Aboriginal Station, wrote of the beneficial effects that the magazine had had on the Aboriginal people, including a better attitude towards the board and less interest in Communism. He reported that it was very popular and he felt that Dawn had "broken through the apathetic acceptance of their humble state, stimulated their self-respect, and their urge to achieve recognition in the general community", through reading about Aboriginal people who had achieved success in sports and other walks of life.[5] It was described by Superintendent A. W. G. Lipscomb, Superintendent of the board,[6] as a successful experiment:[5]

It has done what it set out to do, bringing the aborigines a new outlook on life, educating them and telling them of each other. It is not merely a magazine for the aboriginal people, but also, and rather a magazine of the aboriginal people...

The magazine was relaunched in April 1970 under the title New Dawn, published by the New South Wales Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare.[7] It continued to be produced on a monthly basis, but production slowed in 1974 and the final issue was published in July 1975.

  1. ^ "Dawn". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Dawn : a magazine for the Aboriginal people of N.S.W". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Dawn". Trove. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ^ "The Role of the Aborigines Welfare Board in Aboriginal Progress". Dawn. Sydney: Aboriginal Welfare Board. April 1969. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b "The early history of Moree and adjacent districts". North West Champion. Vol. 42, no. 62. New South Wales, Australia. 6 August 1953. p. 7. Retrieved 22 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Aborigines Welfare Board". Research Data Australia. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. ^ "From Board to Department : The Changeover". New Dawn. Sydney: New South Wales Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare. April 1969. p. 2.