1965 Freedom Ride
The Freedom Ride, led by Charles Perkins in February 1965, is celebrated as a pivotal event in the struggle against discrimination in Australia. In this report from the ABC current affairs program AM, Dr Perkins' daughter Rachel reflects on the significance of the Freedom Ride as a new team of Riders prepares to retrace the original journey fifty years later.
1992 Mabo Decision
- History of Indigenous Land Rights. (2018). ABC. Retrieved 7th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1542143/native-title-200-years-in-the-making
You may have heard of the 1967 referendum that granted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders some rights in Australia, but how did Indigenous rights evolve from there? Many, like the Black Power activists, believed the referendum didn't go far enough, especially in relation to land rights, and their causes gained prominence in the 1970s. Find out about some of their activities, including the landmark Mabo decision in the 1990s and the formation of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. - Native Title - 200 years in the making. (2012). ABC. Retrieved 7th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1542143/native-title-200-years-in-the-makingWhat do you know about the struggle for native title in Australia? On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia handed down a landmark ruling that acknowledged that the Meriam people of the Torres Strait had the right to hold native title over their islands (Murray, or Mer, Dauar and Waier). Find out more about this critical decision and how it came to be made. This clip is first in a series of six.
First Australians - A fair deal for a dark race
2008 Apology to Indigenous peoples by the Australian Government
On 13 February 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia on behalf of the Parliament issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for forced removals of Australian indigenous children from their families by Australian federal and state government agencies.
Transcript of apology:
I move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering, and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement, and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.
— Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, 13 February 2008, at a sitting of the Parliament of Australia
1967 Referendum
- Right Wrongs. (2018). ABC. Retrieved 4th October 2018 from http://www.abc.net.au/rightwrongs/
A great site with lots of information, pictures and videos that give an overview of all the main issues before and after the vote, and how it still influences all our lives today. - Faith Bandler on voting yes in the 1967 referendum. (2017). ABC. Retrieved 5th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2567339/faith-bandler-on-voting-yes-in-the-1967-referendumIn 1967, after 10 years of campaigning, Australia voted yes in the referendum on changing the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were referred to in the Constitution. Faith Bandler played an important role in campaigning for the yes vote. Do some research and find out more about this remarkable activist.
1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy
- 1967 and a New Activistm. (2017). ABC. Retrieved from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2567371/1967-and-a-new-activismThe Aboriginal Tent Embassy was an event that brought attention to the lack of action by the government despite changes brought about by the yes vote in 1967. How laws were made for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the struggle for land rights became the focus of the next wave of Aboriginal activists, who gained domestic and world attention by erecting a tent embassy on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra.
- The History of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. (1972). ABC. Retrieved 6th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2188045/the-history-of-the-aboriginal-tent-embassyThe Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in 1972 only to be forcibly removed a few months later. Why do you think the reporter compares the protest in Canberra to events in Louisiana and Mississippi in USA? What are the protesters chanting? See if you can find out what happened to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy over the years.
On 26 January 1972, four Indigenous men set up a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite Parliament House in Canberra. Describing the umbrella as the Aboriginal Embassy, the men were protesting the McMahon Government’s approach to Indigenous land rights. The Embassy operated in a number of locations and took many forms before its permanent establishment on those same lawns in 1992. The goals of protesters have also changed over time, and now include not only land rights but also Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.
1968 The Wave Hill Walk-off
- The Wave Hill Walk - More than a Wage Dispute. (1968). ABC. Retrieved 5th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/105332/two-years-after-the-1966-wave-hill-walk-offVisit Wattie Creek at Wave Hill station in 1968. It is two years into the historic strike known as the 'Wave Hill walk-off' led by the Aboriginal Elder Vincent Lingiari. In this black-and-white clip made at the time, listen to Vincent Lingiari and other strikers discuss what they are fighting for. The manager of Wave Hill station also expresses his point of view.
1992 Keating Redfern Speech
In 1992, Prime Minister Paul Keating made a speech in Redfern, which acknowledged for the first time that "we took the children from their mothers".
It was the first time any leader acknowledged the impact of European settlement. "We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers," he said.
1998 first National Sorry Day
- National Sorry Day. (2012). ABC. Retrieved 7th October 2018 from http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/digibook/618742/national-sorry-dayThe recognition of past wrongs in Australia has been described as 'the test we've always failed'. National Sorry Day recognises the negative impact of Australian policies, practices and attitudes on Indigenous people.
On May 26th each year, ceremonies, marches, speeches and presentations are held around Australia to commemorate the first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998. This date was chosen as it was one year after the 'Bringing Them Home' was first tabled in parliament. The report was from a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission inquiry, that documented the forced removal of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, between 1910 and the 1970s.