The Aboriginal fight for human rights

  • Aboriginal protest Sydney

    Aboriginal protest Sydney
    On January 26 1938, First Peoples activists held the nation's first Day of Mourning to coincide with the 150th anniversary celebrations of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove. 1,000 First Peoples and supporters marched in silent protest through the streets of Sydney
  • First Aboriginal land rights act

    First Aboriginal land rights act
    In 1963, it was the first legislation in Australia that enabled First Nations peoples to claim land rights for Country where traditional ownership could be proven.
  • Freedom Riders demand equal treatment

    Freedom Riders demand equal treatment
    In 1965, a group of Sydney University students made a bus tour through New South Wales led by Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins. They protested about discrimination in shops, theatres, bars, clubs and swimming pools. Their aim was to challenge/end the discrimination and racism.
  • Gurindji people demand a better deal

    Gurindji people demand a better deal
    In protest, 200 workers walked off he Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory. They wanted better wages and conditions, and their traditional lands back. The Gurindji eventually gained ownership of the area in 1985.
  • White voters demand a better deal for first Australians

    White voters demand a better deal for first Australians
    After a 90% 'yes' vote the government gave Indigenous Australians the right to vote and be counted as censuses and ended the protection policies
  • Aboriginal tent embassy set up in Canberra

    Aboriginal tent embassy set up in Canberra
    The Embassy said that blacks were now going to get up and fight back on the issues of education, health, police victimisation, locking people up - Bobby Sykes, Aboriginal activist.
  • Land rights to be granted to first Australians

    Land rights to be granted to first Australians
    A governemt commission recommended that Aboriginals should get back the land where they now lived and had traditionally lived
  • The Sydney Harbour Bridge protest

    The Sydney Harbour Bridge protest
    In May, 2000 250 000 people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and up to 400 000 marched in Melbourne in December. Many of the people carried banners and signs criticising the Prime Ministers descision to refuse to say 'Sorry' to indigenous Australian people for past wrongs. The march involved people of all ages and races.
  • United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples

    United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples
    In 2007 the United Nations passed the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples to help eliminate human rights violations against them. It creates a framework for laws to make sure that issues are addressed by working directly with indigenous communities.
  • Addressing the stolen generations

    Addressing the stolen generations
    On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples particularly the Stolen generations