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Freedom Rides
In February of 1965 Aboriginal students came together and participated in the Freedom Rides. This group was lead by Charles Perkins, the first Aborigine to graduate from an Australian university, led the group who performed in a similar way like the Freedom Riders in the U.S. He lead the Australian Freedom Riders where they travelled around regional New South Wales. The tour started off as a fact finding mission but later turned into a genuine protest against segregation across Australia. -
Wave Hill Walk Off
The Wave Hill walk-off was the initial response given to the British Vestey Company who refused to pay the Gurindji people the standard workers wage of $25.00 per week. Prior to this the government had granted "equal pay" to all Aboriginal workers however, there was no evidence to show that anybody was complying with this. The workers at Wave Hill performed the walk-off to shed light upon the discrimination that existed. But as well as stating this,they also brought another topic; land rights. -
The Referendum of 1967
In 1967 the Harold Holt government had rejected the land rights claim of the Gurindji people at Wave Hill however, he still recognised the inequalities to be addressed and he then called a referendum. He used this to seek authority to count Aborigines in the Australian Census. It would also allow the federal government to legislate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders. The referendum however was not the even that gave the Aborigines "the vote", which had occurred prior in 1962. -
Aboriginal Tent Embassy
An Aboriginal Tent Embassy had formed and was established on the front lawn of Australian parliament house in 1972 to make sure that the issue of Aboriginal rights was still in the public eye.The embassy came about due to the slow process of land rights. They had a list of political demands such as legal and title rights to land currently being mined, the preservation of all sacred sites and compensation for land that could not be returned. Their demands were later rejected. -
Whitlam Government Returns Land To The Gurindji People
In 1975 the Whitlam government finally convinced the Vesteys to give back the Gurindji people some of their land. This was due to the workers protesting through the Wave Hill walk-off. This was a significant event in the land rights movement for the Aborigines. An iconic act performed was Whitlam pouring the sand through Vincent Linigair's (the Aborigine protest leader) hand. -
Mabo Case Ruling in the High Court
In June 1992, a group of Torres Strait Islander's, being led by Eddie Mabo, won a court case in the High Court of Australia. The judgement passed was that the Islanders had a right to their own traditional land because they were known as the original owners. The Court ruled that native title may apply to all claims to land that had not be sold or given away (Crown Land). Because of this case in December 1993 the government passed the Native Title act to place the Mabo verdict in Australian law. -
Bringing Them Home Report
The "Bringing Them Home Report" is a document that complete analysis the history of the forced removable of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children - The Stolen Generation. It was tabled in Federal parliament on the 26th of May 1997. Throughout the report recommendations were made about the course of action that the different governments (State, Federal and Territorial), churches and communities could take to repair some of the damage caused.
