My Thoughts on the BookI thoroughly enjoyed reading Walking the Boundaries. It is an excellent novel. It really does show the true meaning of friendship, trust and change. My mother even read this story after I had finished reading it, and she said it was an inspirational and incredible story, that is an amazing example of time throughout the ages and how everything has changed.
Walking the Boundaries‘Walking the Boundaries' is a journey, an experience where you learn and do great things. You come out of your shell. You become yourself. You meet people, make friends, make enemies, and when you are done, you will be tempted to return.
At first, when I read the book, I thought “Walking the Boundaries” would be tough, but have little meaning behind it. I was actually curious to know how Jackie French would make the novel exciting. As I went through the book, I discovered that the term, “Walking the Boundary”, meant a whole lot more than just walking around some trees. |
'Walking the Boundaries', shows how things change, for better or worse. It shows how everyone needs to walk the boundaries to see their future and their past.
“We’ve been walking the boundaries of this place for tens of thousands of years now. Now there’ll be you as well – and there’ll be people after you. (French, 1993, Pg. 184)
This shows that the boundaries mean a lot to Ted, and to everyone he walks it with. It is the same for Martin. Ted had been walking the boundaries for years and years and was so happy that Martin would be as well, for the rest of his life. Martin’s knowledge towards Walking the Boundaries completely changed, and for the better. He will be walking the boundaries for the rest of his life.
“We’ve been walking the boundaries of this place for tens of thousands of years now. Now there’ll be you as well – and there’ll be people after you. (French, 1993, Pg. 184)
This shows that the boundaries mean a lot to Ted, and to everyone he walks it with. It is the same for Martin. Ted had been walking the boundaries for years and years and was so happy that Martin would be as well, for the rest of his life. Martin’s knowledge towards Walking the Boundaries completely changed, and for the better. He will be walking the boundaries for the rest of his life.
The Land
No one owns the land. The land in a way, owns us. The owls outside, the kangaroos, the goannas are all part of the land. We, along with the animals, are merely ‘caretakers’ of the land.
“Of course she can stay. Haven’t you learnt that yet? This isn’t my place… or yours… or Meg’s… or no more my place than Dracula’s. I just look after it. That’s what we, are, we humans – caretakers.’ (French 1993, Pg. 123)
“Your place, my place, Meg’s, Wullamudulla’s, Dracula’s that owl outside, the wombat’s. No one of us has any more right to it than any other one.” (French, 1993, Pg. 123)
Martin’s mindset towards the bush drastically changes throughout the book. At the beginning he was going to sell the land for DVDs, cars and boats. By the end of his walk he realised that walking the boundaries was more than just a boring old walk, it was a challenge, a journey, an experience that showcased how everything and everyone must change for the better or the worse.
Everyone must do their part to preserve the bush. The bush gives to us, and we must give back to it. We must protect it. We must nurture it. We must look after it.
“Of course she can stay. Haven’t you learnt that yet? This isn’t my place… or yours… or Meg’s… or no more my place than Dracula’s. I just look after it. That’s what we, are, we humans – caretakers.’ (French 1993, Pg. 123)
“Your place, my place, Meg’s, Wullamudulla’s, Dracula’s that owl outside, the wombat’s. No one of us has any more right to it than any other one.” (French, 1993, Pg. 123)
Martin’s mindset towards the bush drastically changes throughout the book. At the beginning he was going to sell the land for DVDs, cars and boats. By the end of his walk he realised that walking the boundaries was more than just a boring old walk, it was a challenge, a journey, an experience that showcased how everything and everyone must change for the better or the worse.
Everyone must do their part to preserve the bush. The bush gives to us, and we must give back to it. We must protect it. We must nurture it. We must look after it.
Jackie French's Characterisation
Jackie French characterises Martin greatly throughout the book. From my perspective, Martin changes from an arrogant, spoilt, self-hearted young boy, to a knowledgeable, understanding, and caring young man who learns so much about the bush and what we, as humans must do to preserve it.
‘Other kids’ relatives sent them presents on their birthday’. (French, 1993, Pg. 4)
Martin’s respect towards Old Ted was low because of his mother’s.
‘Mad as a meat axe. Didn’t even get a decent suit to wear to his own grandson’s wedding. He could have at least hired one.’ (French, 1993, Pg. 4)
Martin and his mother are only thinking of themselves at this point in the story. They believe that Old Ted must do what every other stereotypical great-grandparent does; they must send them presents, take them on holidays and pay money to please them.
Martin only wanted to walk the boundaries so he could sell the farm and become rich. He didn’t even begin to think what the repercussions of that would be.
‘By Monday, if things went well, all this would be his. Then he’d sell it, and be rich.’ (French, 1993, Pg. 7)
If we fast forward to the end of the story, Martin’s personality completely changes towards the farm and the bush. At the beginning he was going to sell the land for DVDs, cars and boats. By the end of his walk he released that walking the boundaries was more than just a boring old walk, it was a challenge, a journey, an experience that showcased how everything and everyone must change for the better or the worse.
Everyone must do their part to preserve the bush. Martin realised this towards the end of the book. He realised that the bush is precious and he has to do his part to save it. The bush gives to us, and we must give back to it. We must protect it. We must nurture it. We must look after it.
“It’s nothing much I’m offering you, boy. You thought you’d be able to sell this place, didn’t you? Buy boats and cars and DVDs galore. Well, you can’t. Not now. You’ll spend your life looking after this place, like I have. And you won’t be sorry.” (French, 1993, Pg. 186)
“I won’t be sorry. I’m part of this place now. I’ll have to learn though. Will you teach me, Ted?” (French, 1993, Pg. 186)
My perspective on Martin completely changes throughout the novel and it changes for the better because Martin realises that the bush and life are precious. There is no point whining because your great-grandfather doesn’t give you presents. My perspective of Martin completely changed because he was no longer a spoiled little boy, he was a mature, selfless, young man.
‘Other kids’ relatives sent them presents on their birthday’. (French, 1993, Pg. 4)
Martin’s respect towards Old Ted was low because of his mother’s.
‘Mad as a meat axe. Didn’t even get a decent suit to wear to his own grandson’s wedding. He could have at least hired one.’ (French, 1993, Pg. 4)
Martin and his mother are only thinking of themselves at this point in the story. They believe that Old Ted must do what every other stereotypical great-grandparent does; they must send them presents, take them on holidays and pay money to please them.
Martin only wanted to walk the boundaries so he could sell the farm and become rich. He didn’t even begin to think what the repercussions of that would be.
‘By Monday, if things went well, all this would be his. Then he’d sell it, and be rich.’ (French, 1993, Pg. 7)
If we fast forward to the end of the story, Martin’s personality completely changes towards the farm and the bush. At the beginning he was going to sell the land for DVDs, cars and boats. By the end of his walk he released that walking the boundaries was more than just a boring old walk, it was a challenge, a journey, an experience that showcased how everything and everyone must change for the better or the worse.
Everyone must do their part to preserve the bush. Martin realised this towards the end of the book. He realised that the bush is precious and he has to do his part to save it. The bush gives to us, and we must give back to it. We must protect it. We must nurture it. We must look after it.
“It’s nothing much I’m offering you, boy. You thought you’d be able to sell this place, didn’t you? Buy boats and cars and DVDs galore. Well, you can’t. Not now. You’ll spend your life looking after this place, like I have. And you won’t be sorry.” (French, 1993, Pg. 186)
“I won’t be sorry. I’m part of this place now. I’ll have to learn though. Will you teach me, Ted?” (French, 1993, Pg. 186)
My perspective on Martin completely changes throughout the novel and it changes for the better because Martin realises that the bush and life are precious. There is no point whining because your great-grandfather doesn’t give you presents. My perspective of Martin completely changed because he was no longer a spoiled little boy, he was a mature, selfless, young man.
Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula
There was a great purpose as to why Jackie French introduced Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula into the story. Meg and Wullamudulla save Martin to begin with.
Martin almost dies from a flood early into the story, and Meg pulls him up a cliff and saves his life. Meg not only saves Martin but makes him a better person. When Meg first met Martin, he was an arrogant, city boy. However, after they parted, Meg had passed on a lot of knowledge to Martin to make him a respectable, understanding young man. When Martin first met Meg, he didn’t care about the bush, and just wanted money.
“You could sell the place and make money that way, and move to the city.” (French, 1993, Pg. 48)
Meg was horrified in response to this statement, and when Martin suggested to leave the bush, sell the land and move to the city, her response was clear.
“Never! Do you know what it is to be landless? Do you know?” (French, 1993, Pg. 48)
By the end of the book, Martin’s attitude had changed purely because of Meg. Also, Martin gave Meg some knowledge about the city, which showed their true friendship by the end of the book.
Wullamudulla saves both Meg and Martin when a fire breaks out in the forest. The purpose of Wullamudulla is to almost be a guide for both Meg and Martin. Wullamudulla is from an Aboriginal Tribe, thousands of years before Meg and Martin’s time. He is a quiet, gentle young man, and is walking the boundaries too. His purpose was to show how drastic the changes were from his time to Meg’s and then from Meg’s time to Martin’s. Also not forgetting that Wullamudulla saves Meg and Martin’s life.
The introduction of Dracula was almost just for humour. The only real reason he was there was for comic relief but more importantly to show change from his time to Wullamudulla’s, Meg’s and Martin’s. In his time there was no civilization, just the dinosaurs. In his time, it was beautiful; there were thousands of trees, clean air, and peaceful animals, (and some scary ones too). The main purpose of Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula is to guide Martin along his journey, and to show him the change that has happened to this land over time, and what he must do to preserve it.
Martin almost dies from a flood early into the story, and Meg pulls him up a cliff and saves his life. Meg not only saves Martin but makes him a better person. When Meg first met Martin, he was an arrogant, city boy. However, after they parted, Meg had passed on a lot of knowledge to Martin to make him a respectable, understanding young man. When Martin first met Meg, he didn’t care about the bush, and just wanted money.
“You could sell the place and make money that way, and move to the city.” (French, 1993, Pg. 48)
Meg was horrified in response to this statement, and when Martin suggested to leave the bush, sell the land and move to the city, her response was clear.
“Never! Do you know what it is to be landless? Do you know?” (French, 1993, Pg. 48)
By the end of the book, Martin’s attitude had changed purely because of Meg. Also, Martin gave Meg some knowledge about the city, which showed their true friendship by the end of the book.
Wullamudulla saves both Meg and Martin when a fire breaks out in the forest. The purpose of Wullamudulla is to almost be a guide for both Meg and Martin. Wullamudulla is from an Aboriginal Tribe, thousands of years before Meg and Martin’s time. He is a quiet, gentle young man, and is walking the boundaries too. His purpose was to show how drastic the changes were from his time to Meg’s and then from Meg’s time to Martin’s. Also not forgetting that Wullamudulla saves Meg and Martin’s life.
The introduction of Dracula was almost just for humour. The only real reason he was there was for comic relief but more importantly to show change from his time to Wullamudulla’s, Meg’s and Martin’s. In his time there was no civilization, just the dinosaurs. In his time, it was beautiful; there were thousands of trees, clean air, and peaceful animals, (and some scary ones too). The main purpose of Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula is to guide Martin along his journey, and to show him the change that has happened to this land over time, and what he must do to preserve it.
Indigenous People
The attitudes towards Indigenous people throughout the book is understandable. Some would consider that Jackie French is racist because of how she stereotypes Wullamudulla. However, in the story, Wullamudulla was from an ancient time, where there were no pizzas, there were no cities, and there were no Reeboks, so these stereotypes were true.
“He’s got bare feet and he’s alright.” (French, 1993, Pg. 118)
“I don’t know. It’d surely be easier if he was with us. (French, 1993, Pg. 123)
These quotes show that Wullamudulla grew up in the bush. He had tough feet, and could withstand the hot ground. This is showing that Martin believes that all Aboriginal people must have tough feet because they grow up in the bush. Meg’s quote shows that Wullamudulla would be very handy to have around, because he knows so much about the bush and can help them, just because he is Aboriginal.
Today, most Aboriginal people grow up amongst everyone else; in cities, towns and villages. As they are not growing up in the bush like Wullamudulla, their feet will not be as tough as his. This shows that because of white civilization, the Aborigines have completely changed. This isn’t necessarily a good change.
Throughout the book, Meg talks about her Auntie, and calls her a Blackfella. Today, that term is considered highly racist, and I am sure no young child would refer to their elders by that term.
“He’s got bare feet and he’s alright.” (French, 1993, Pg. 118)
“I don’t know. It’d surely be easier if he was with us. (French, 1993, Pg. 123)
These quotes show that Wullamudulla grew up in the bush. He had tough feet, and could withstand the hot ground. This is showing that Martin believes that all Aboriginal people must have tough feet because they grow up in the bush. Meg’s quote shows that Wullamudulla would be very handy to have around, because he knows so much about the bush and can help them, just because he is Aboriginal.
Today, most Aboriginal people grow up amongst everyone else; in cities, towns and villages. As they are not growing up in the bush like Wullamudulla, their feet will not be as tough as his. This shows that because of white civilization, the Aborigines have completely changed. This isn’t necessarily a good change.
Throughout the book, Meg talks about her Auntie, and calls her a Blackfella. Today, that term is considered highly racist, and I am sure no young child would refer to their elders by that term.
The Moral
I believe the moral to “Walking the Boundaries”, is to simply protect the bush. If I elaborate, the moral is that we need to live in harmony, with the bush, and care for it, so the world will be a better place. The bush is a wondrous thing and it has been on Earth for thousands upon thousands of years. We need it and it needs us. We need to work together to save it. The attitudes towards the bush are different however. At the beginning, Martin didn’t care about the bush, and by the end he did.
“One who loves this place his way, and lets me love in mine.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
“One who can understand the secret things.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
“If the land is cleared and if the trees and animals go, I won’t be able to do my secret things.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
These are powerful quotes as they show that the bush is different for everyone. Each person has a different connection to the bush and loves different things about it. The quotes show how we need to share the bush so we can all enjoy it in our different ways, and do our secret things with it. The secret things Meg may be talking about could possibly be talking with the bush, playing with the bush, etc. For many people the bush is a friend to them.
As Meg said, if we destroy the forest, the trees and the animals are all gone, she won’t be able to do her secret things. She won’t be able to sit in peace and quiet amongst the many trees and beautiful wildlife and talk to her best friend.
The bush is increasingly changing and the connection from the human race to the bush is narrowing. Eventually when the forests are all cleared, kids won’t even know what the bush was. We need to plant more trees and go to the bush whenever we can so we can protect it, and share it, and love it.
“One who loves this place his way, and lets me love in mine.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
“One who can understand the secret things.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
“If the land is cleared and if the trees and animals go, I won’t be able to do my secret things.” (French, 1993, Pg. 81)
These are powerful quotes as they show that the bush is different for everyone. Each person has a different connection to the bush and loves different things about it. The quotes show how we need to share the bush so we can all enjoy it in our different ways, and do our secret things with it. The secret things Meg may be talking about could possibly be talking with the bush, playing with the bush, etc. For many people the bush is a friend to them.
As Meg said, if we destroy the forest, the trees and the animals are all gone, she won’t be able to do her secret things. She won’t be able to sit in peace and quiet amongst the many trees and beautiful wildlife and talk to her best friend.
The bush is increasingly changing and the connection from the human race to the bush is narrowing. Eventually when the forests are all cleared, kids won’t even know what the bush was. We need to plant more trees and go to the bush whenever we can so we can protect it, and share it, and love it.
Change in the Story
I believe change is shown as both a positive and a negative response in the novel.
The book starts with a young, naïve, arrogant, young child called Martin, and follows him through a deep and emotion-filled journey through time. He sees how much the bush has changed, and for the worse. He sees how the animals, trees, and even people have changed throughout time and this shows him what he must do. Martin must change the bush himself back in his time; he must change it back to what it once was – a beautiful and luxurious sanctuary.
This is showing the reader that the change towards the bush is awful. Trees, shrubs, and animals’ homes are all being destroyed. Then it shows the reader that through “Walking the Boundaries”, Martin’s perspective and personality have drastically changed and this new perspective leads the reader, confident that Martin would spend his life protecting the bush, and saving those many animals, and how he would keep those thousands of trees alive.
This new perspective left the reader joyful and thankful, because they knew that Martin had changed for the better, and he would change the bush for the greater as well.
Another aspect of change in the novel is Martin’s respect and acceptance of Old Ted. Earlier on in the story, Martin thought Old Ted was a lonely, grumpy old man who didn’t care about anyone. He never even bought Martin a present, again showing how Martin’s personality and attitude changed in the book. Towards the end of the story, Martin completely understood Old Ted. He understood the amount of work he has put into saving and protecting the valley. He understood the amount of sorrow he would have had to go through when Meg died, because Martin himself spent a great deal of time with her. Martin also understood that “Walking the Boundaries” was a testament to how strong of a person you were inside, and that this was a way of passing down the knowledge and responsibility of protecting and preserving the valley down from Old Ted to Martin. By the end of the story, Martin’s respect towards Old Ted positively changes from unappreciative t appreciative.
So, all in all, throughout the story, change is shown in a both positive and negative way and because of this, Jackie French shows the reader that throughout life, you will experience change, and it will be for the greater or deficient. However, you just cannot know when, where, or why the change will occur.
The book starts with a young, naïve, arrogant, young child called Martin, and follows him through a deep and emotion-filled journey through time. He sees how much the bush has changed, and for the worse. He sees how the animals, trees, and even people have changed throughout time and this shows him what he must do. Martin must change the bush himself back in his time; he must change it back to what it once was – a beautiful and luxurious sanctuary.
This is showing the reader that the change towards the bush is awful. Trees, shrubs, and animals’ homes are all being destroyed. Then it shows the reader that through “Walking the Boundaries”, Martin’s perspective and personality have drastically changed and this new perspective leads the reader, confident that Martin would spend his life protecting the bush, and saving those many animals, and how he would keep those thousands of trees alive.
This new perspective left the reader joyful and thankful, because they knew that Martin had changed for the better, and he would change the bush for the greater as well.
Another aspect of change in the novel is Martin’s respect and acceptance of Old Ted. Earlier on in the story, Martin thought Old Ted was a lonely, grumpy old man who didn’t care about anyone. He never even bought Martin a present, again showing how Martin’s personality and attitude changed in the book. Towards the end of the story, Martin completely understood Old Ted. He understood the amount of work he has put into saving and protecting the valley. He understood the amount of sorrow he would have had to go through when Meg died, because Martin himself spent a great deal of time with her. Martin also understood that “Walking the Boundaries” was a testament to how strong of a person you were inside, and that this was a way of passing down the knowledge and responsibility of protecting and preserving the valley down from Old Ted to Martin. By the end of the story, Martin’s respect towards Old Ted positively changes from unappreciative t appreciative.
So, all in all, throughout the story, change is shown in a both positive and negative way and because of this, Jackie French shows the reader that throughout life, you will experience change, and it will be for the greater or deficient. However, you just cannot know when, where, or why the change will occur.
Environmental Change
Three quotes that illustrate changes in the environment throughout the book are listed below:
“Even the air smelt different, no longer hot with dust and the thick sweet smell of cattle, but a sharper mix of hot rock and damp leaf litter and cool water from the creek that cut through the deep gorge, then nuzzled its way through the casuarinas to the valley below and Old Ted’s farm.” (French, 1993. Pg. 2)
This quote is showing how the change from Martin’s normal life in the city, to the new, quiet and peaceful life in the country, is quite enormous and is greatly affecting his thoughts.
“This was his world. How could he explain it – the cities that never heard the soft footsteps of animals in the bark, or smelt the thousand scents of trees and wind and soil; where people turned their faces away from each other, lost in the crowd, too many to hold the friendship that the four of them felt now? (French, 1993, Pg. 168)
This is a beautiful quote. This is the point in the story when Martin, Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula had reached Martin’s time. This quote is showing how difficult it is to explain how drastically the world has changed since his time thousands of years before. It is showing that while everyone Wullamudulla knows back home lives and breathes in the bush, people in Martin’s lifetime would have never been to the bush. It shows how there are so many people in Martin’s lifetime who know nothing about it, and have never experienced the true beauty and peace of the incredible sanctuary that is the bush.
“Humans had taken so much from the earth. Maybe it was time to give something back.” (French, 1993, Pg. 170)
Although this is a small quote, every single word is perfect. This quote is aimed towards Dracula, and how the human race had taken everything away from her, her fellow diprotodons and the earth all those thousands of years ago, and how Martin is thinking whether we the human race should give back to the Earth. Although it is aimed at a fictional character in a novel, that is really a disguise for a much larger thing. Today, in our lifetime, humans are taking so much from the Earth. Over 100 acres of bush cut down every minute, new animals being put on the endangered list every day and new predictions made about when an animal would become extinct every day as well. We take so much from this earth, and we need to fix this. Back in Wullamudulla’s time, the Aborigines took small amounts from the Earth, so that there would always be some leftover to replenish itself. How did we change so much? How did the human race stop caring about the Earth and always take, take, take and never give, give give? We need to start thinking of ways to give back to the earth so that it will always have enough of everything so humans can live in a peaceful and beautiful environment.
“Even the air smelt different, no longer hot with dust and the thick sweet smell of cattle, but a sharper mix of hot rock and damp leaf litter and cool water from the creek that cut through the deep gorge, then nuzzled its way through the casuarinas to the valley below and Old Ted’s farm.” (French, 1993. Pg. 2)
This quote is showing how the change from Martin’s normal life in the city, to the new, quiet and peaceful life in the country, is quite enormous and is greatly affecting his thoughts.
“This was his world. How could he explain it – the cities that never heard the soft footsteps of animals in the bark, or smelt the thousand scents of trees and wind and soil; where people turned their faces away from each other, lost in the crowd, too many to hold the friendship that the four of them felt now? (French, 1993, Pg. 168)
This is a beautiful quote. This is the point in the story when Martin, Meg, Wullamudulla and Dracula had reached Martin’s time. This quote is showing how difficult it is to explain how drastically the world has changed since his time thousands of years before. It is showing that while everyone Wullamudulla knows back home lives and breathes in the bush, people in Martin’s lifetime would have never been to the bush. It shows how there are so many people in Martin’s lifetime who know nothing about it, and have never experienced the true beauty and peace of the incredible sanctuary that is the bush.
“Humans had taken so much from the earth. Maybe it was time to give something back.” (French, 1993, Pg. 170)
Although this is a small quote, every single word is perfect. This quote is aimed towards Dracula, and how the human race had taken everything away from her, her fellow diprotodons and the earth all those thousands of years ago, and how Martin is thinking whether we the human race should give back to the Earth. Although it is aimed at a fictional character in a novel, that is really a disguise for a much larger thing. Today, in our lifetime, humans are taking so much from the Earth. Over 100 acres of bush cut down every minute, new animals being put on the endangered list every day and new predictions made about when an animal would become extinct every day as well. We take so much from this earth, and we need to fix this. Back in Wullamudulla’s time, the Aborigines took small amounts from the Earth, so that there would always be some leftover to replenish itself. How did we change so much? How did the human race stop caring about the Earth and always take, take, take and never give, give give? We need to start thinking of ways to give back to the earth so that it will always have enough of everything so humans can live in a peaceful and beautiful environment.
Deeds to Land
In my opinion a deed to a bit of land does mean you own it. I think that, although this land originally belonged to the Aborigines, if you own the deed to it, you own the bit of land.
However, back when the European explorers invaded and built fences all around Australia to show their bits of land, they literally took it out of the hands of the Aborigines. I think that was wrong. At that time, the Aborigines did own the land. At that time, they did have the rights and responsibilities of owning that land. The European explorers had no right to just take it away from them and kill them if they stood up against that.
That is why I believe that in our time, a deed does mean you own the land. The only reason I believe in that is because when you are buying the deed, you aren’t stealing the land. You are paying for it. Also, the people who currently own that land have the right to keep it. They have the right to say that they don’t want any money and want to stay.
That was different back when European explorers invaded Australia. The Aborigines didn’t have a choice to whether they wanted to sell or keep their land. They were just pushed away and forced to live somewhere else. The Europeans stole the land from the Aborigines and that was very, very wrong. But we can’t say now in our time, whenever we buy a bit of land, we are stealing from the Aborigines. That’s just ridiculous. That’s like saying the Aborigines stole from the dinosaurs.
Other people may have different opinions, but I strongly believe that when the European explorers invaded, they stole the land, but today, when you buy the deed to a bit of land, you aren’t stealing, you a merely using.
However, back when the European explorers invaded and built fences all around Australia to show their bits of land, they literally took it out of the hands of the Aborigines. I think that was wrong. At that time, the Aborigines did own the land. At that time, they did have the rights and responsibilities of owning that land. The European explorers had no right to just take it away from them and kill them if they stood up against that.
That is why I believe that in our time, a deed does mean you own the land. The only reason I believe in that is because when you are buying the deed, you aren’t stealing the land. You are paying for it. Also, the people who currently own that land have the right to keep it. They have the right to say that they don’t want any money and want to stay.
That was different back when European explorers invaded Australia. The Aborigines didn’t have a choice to whether they wanted to sell or keep their land. They were just pushed away and forced to live somewhere else. The Europeans stole the land from the Aborigines and that was very, very wrong. But we can’t say now in our time, whenever we buy a bit of land, we are stealing from the Aborigines. That’s just ridiculous. That’s like saying the Aborigines stole from the dinosaurs.
Other people may have different opinions, but I strongly believe that when the European explorers invaded, they stole the land, but today, when you buy the deed to a bit of land, you aren’t stealing, you a merely using.