Let's also remember that the issues Sir John and his colleagues wrestled with 150 years ago are still with us and unresolved today - only the attitudes and mores of the times have changed. The issue is: our country includes a large population of indigenous people who must somehow make their way into the future. But how? Even those indigenous people do not know or agree, individually or as a group. The backdrop of efforts by all parties over the years should be seen as attempts to move forward, even though some were clearly misguided by our standards (and some turned out to be wrong by any standard).