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Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights
A meeting of Aboriginal people was held in Sydney. A document called "Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights" was circulated. This declaration was the first time Aboriginal people had made a national protest. This was widely reported in newspapers and many white Australians started to take notice of their suffering -
Aborigines in the War
Despite rules against their enrolment, over 3000 Aboriginal men and women are known to have enlisted in World War II. Only one Aboriginal man ever received land under the soldier settlement scheme. Returned Aboriginal service men and women were often denied the honour and rights given to other returned servicemen and women. -
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The Stolen Generation
Great numbers of Indigenous children were removed from their families to advance the cause of assimilation. Not only were they removed for alleged neglect, they were removed to attend school in distant places, to receive medical treatment and to be adopted out at birth. -
Freedom Riders Demand Equal Treatment
A group led by Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins mad a bus tour through New South Wales. They protested about discrimination in shops, theatres, bars, clubs and swimming pools -
Gurindji People Demand a Better Deal
200 workers walked off the Wave Hill cattle station int he Norhtern 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 Indigenous Australians
After a 90% 'yes' vote the government gave indigenous Australians the right to vote and be counted in censuses, and ended the protection policies -
The Aboriginal Flag
The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by artist Harold Thomas in 1970. The colours of the flag represent the Aboriginal people of Australia and their connection to the land. The flag was first raised on 9 July 1971. -
First Aboriginal Land Rights Act
This Northern Territory law only gave the indigenous people some areas of arid and lately useless land. Other land claims were often thrown out by the courts. -
More than 10% of the land returned
Indigenous people in South Australia were handed back ownership of more than 10% of the State's land and had the right to claim royalties from mining companies operating on their land. Other States like Queensland and New South Wales soon followed suit. -
Uluru Land Rights
The Commonwealth Government granted land rights over Uluru, or Ayers Rock, back to its Aboriginal owners, under the condition that it would be leased back to the National Parks and Wildlife Service for 99 years. -
Terra Nullius Invalid
The Australian High Court handed down its decision, declaring the previous legal concept of terra nullius (no ones land) to be invalid and recognizing the pre-colonial land interest of Indigenous Australians. -
National Sorry Day
A National Sorry Day was introduced, to acknowledge the wrong that had been done to indigenous families. Many politicians participated with the obvious absence of John Howard, the Prime Minister at the time. John Howard stated that he did not support that view of history. -
The "Sorry" March
250 000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge and even more than that marched in Melbourne in December. Marchers carried signs critical of the Prime Minister's refusal to say "Sorrry" to Indigenous Australians for past wrongs.