An Aboriginal family split up by the West Australian government's past policy of forcibly removing indigenous children has lost a Supreme Court bid for compensation.
Donald and Sylvia Collard, from the wheatbelt town of Kondinin, were seeking redress from the WA government after their seven children were removed without consent by state officials and placed in state care between March 1958 and December 1961.
The action was considered by the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (ALSWA) to be a test case for thousands of other indigenous West Australians.
But on Friday, WA Supreme Court Justice Janine Pritchard dismissed the case.
Members of the Collard family were present to hear the outcome and were devastated by the decision, ALSWA chief executive Dennis Eggington said.
They had shown unwavering courage and resilience in sharing their traumatic stories for the case, for the benefit of all members of the stolen generations.
"This test case was more than a case for the Collard family alone," Mr Eggington said.
"It was a test case for thousands of our people who were also stolen from their families and we knew that this case could have the capacity to rights the wrongs of the past.
"You cannot underestimate how difficult this process was for family members but they persevered and can hold their heads high in the knowledge that they played such a significant role in this historical case."
The Collard family is taking time to consider the decision, which was explained in a complex 410-page judgment, and whether to take the matter further.
Lavan Legal, which lodged the writ in May 2010, acted on a pro bono basis.
