As self-government loomed, British authorities made a last attempt to implement the protection and civilisation policy they’d instituted in 1838. Although supporting self-government, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Earl Grey, was apprehensive as to its likely effects on Indigenous people, and sought to institute Aboriginal policies that would survive the transfer of power to the colonies. This would prove highly challenging. Aboriginal poverty and depopulation, and savage frontier violence in some areas, along with the view widely accepted by colonists that missionary efforts had ‘failed’, meant there was little appetite amongst settlers for upholding Aboriginal people’s rights, beyond ongoing blanket distributions. The main Aboriginal policy to receive widespread settler support was the expansion of the Native Police – but while some saw this as a tool for Aboriginal advancement, its main impact was the violent seizure of Aboriginal land. However, Earl Grey did have one major success: stipulating ongoing Aboriginal access to pastoral leases. The effects of this decision remain relevant today. Aboriginal people themselves continued to assert their sovereignty in various ways, from spirited defence of land to diplomatic relationships with governors, missionaries and protectors. This was, however, an uphill battle.