-
Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights
On Australia Day 1938 a meeting of Aboriginal people was held in Sydney. A document was called Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights was circulated. This was the first time Aboriginals made a national protest. -
World War II
The second-class status of Aboriginals became very obvious to the general public as a result of WW2. Many Aboriginals served in armed forces and thousands of them moved to towns to work wartime industries. Because of that many white Australians felt that if the Aboriginals can fight and serve for their country they deserved a fair go. -
Changing Attitudes
After World War 2 attitudes towards Aboriginals started changing, during the 1950s Indigenous Australians were able to enroll for voting, drink in hotels, and travel without restrictions. By the early 1960 Aboriginal adults received pensions and maternity benefits. Inequalities remained in pay, voting, access to facilities, control of children, and land rights. -
Better Treatment
By the early 1960 Aboriginal adults received pensions and maternity benefits. Inequalities remained in pay, voting, access to facilities, control of children, and land rights. -
Equal Treatment Demanded By Freedom Riders
A group of Aboriginal activists led by Charles Perkins made a bus tour through NSW. They protested about discrimination in shops, bars, clubs, theatres, and swimming pools. -
Gurindji People Demand a Better Deal
200 workers walked off the Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory. They wanted better wages and conditions, and their traditional land back. The Gurindji eventually gained ownership of the area in 1985 -
First Indigenous Have the Right to Vote
After 90% of Australians voted yes to let the Aboriginals vote the government gave indigenous Australians the right to vote and to be counted in censuses and also ended the protection policies. -
Land Rights to be Granted to First Australians
A government commission recommended that Aboriginals should get their land back where they now lived and had traditionally lived. -
First Aboriginal Land Rights Act
Northern Territory law only gave the indigenous people some access to areas of arid and largley useless land. Other land claims were often thrown out by the courts. -
Period: to
The March
In May of 2000, 250,000 people marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge. In December of that year, 400,000 marched in Melbourne. All the marchers were marching for an apology from the Australian Prime Minister for the past wrongs to Aboriginal people.