country and non-Indigenous supporters, staged what was the largest march in Sydney since the Vietnam moratorium. There were around a dozen buses of Victorian Aborigines among those congregated. The protesters marched through Sydney chanting for land rights. The march ended at Hyde Park where several prominent Aboriginal leaders and activists spoke, among them activist Gary Foley; 'Let's hope Bob Hawke and his Government gets this message loud and clear from all these people here today. It's so magnificent to see black and white Australians together in harmony…This is what Australia could and should be like.'
The march was seen as a challenge to the dominant society's hegemonic construction of Australia day and what it represented. It was a
This essay briefly discusses the similarities and differences of the ‘Australian and American Freedom Rides’ history. Throughout the essay, there is a discussion on what the reasons were for the protest of the Freedom Rides. It also points out the duration of the protest and the major locations where they were held. The essay also shows the different reactions to the protest and the influential behaviour it results in.
Indigenous Australians had been fighting for rights to their traditional lands since European settlement. The 60s and the 70s were a stage of greater national understanding of Indigenous Activism and saw noteworthy actions taken by groups in the land right struggles. Support was shown by official representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups and even countries such as Russia and Canada. This helped to boost the profile of the embassy. The embassy became a centre for protest after achieving media attention nationally and internationally. Groups from the embassy went on protest marches and talked at community forums to go on and
Once the group had finished visiting these towns and had ended their journey Charles Perkins reported what had happened to a crowd of approximately two hundred at the 1965 Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islands conference in Canberra. The responses after this conference were mainly positive and because of Charles Perkins’ the NSW Aboriginal Welfare Board had announced they would spend sixty-five thousand pounds on more housing in Moree for the Aboriginals. The Australian Freedom Riders had caused many debates all across Australia which had then caused the 1967 Referendum which got rid of a law in the constitution that had stated ‘laws can be made for the people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws’. The law was changed and removed the section ‘other than the Aboriginal race’ this was a positive change as it meant laws could be made in favour of the Aboriginals which could help protect them. Another positive aspect that came out of the
On the 26th of January 1788, Australia was settled by the British who came in the First Fleet. The First Fleet was made up of 11 ships, holding 1,350 convicts, soldiers and settlers. Australia became the new penal colony as prisons were overflowing in Britain due to America’s Independence and refusal to take more convicts. Recently, there has been much debate over whether this colonisation of Australia was an invasion or settlement. An invasion is an unwelcome intrusion into another’s domain. Whereas a settlement is the process of establishing a settlement or settlements. Clearly, when considering these definitions, it can be seen that the colonisation of Australia was intended to be a peaceful settlement, but soon turned
The Australian freedom ride was strongly inspired by the American civil rights movement, particularly in segregation of public amenities in country towns but this movement also wanted to draw public attention to the substandard ways indigenous people were living in rural communities. The Aboriginal Freedom Ride of 1965 was a civil campaign influenced by the US civil rights movement. The campaign was led Charles Perkins, an Arrente man born in Alice Springs, who was a third year arts student at university. He was elected president of the newly formed Student action for Aborigines (SAFA). At midnight on the 12th of February 1965, Perkins invited a large group, approximately 35 students that are of white and indigenous culture to
In Australia and around the world, social justice, civil rights and freedom have constantly been a point of debate and struggle. With government and higher powers attempting to make everything work with each other and get rid of discord, they subsequently affect another person’s freedom. Advocates for rights and freedom vouch for many different things, from racial equality to homosexual civil rights, every case brings with it political opposition. Over many years of trial and tribulation the modern activist has almost overcome the struggles of previous generations. That is not to say there is no longer any struggle at all.
During the ongoing visits on ‘The Freedom Rides’ around the many towns like Bowraville, Boggabilla and Moree, the students had observed the kind of segregation and refusal of service the Aboriginal people faced in places like pools, clubs and shops. In reference to the image in source 3, the itinerary showed the expected dates for stops, demonstrations and surveys and when they would return back to Sydney which would altogether take place over 2 weeks. The students filmed and filed reports to the ABC of the kind of treatment and racism Aboriginal people received, for instance their living conditions and locations which Charlie Perkins in source 4 describes as ‘at river banks, shanties, huts or at the end of a road where there’s (a) rubbish tip’. The main reason of their filming was to show people the truth on what was happening in country towns and to not believe what the news covered Australia to be; that racism did not exist. The publicity gained from The Freedom Rides raised awareness of the racism in Australia and influenced the 1967 Referendum and other campaigns in the future with similar purposes.
Behind every successful social movement is a well executed and planned system and strategy. One of the most common frameworks of social change is Saul Alinsky’s Community Organising, which is where another common framework known as Feminist Organising developed from. These frameworks remain relevant today, and more specifically Feminist Organising in relation to a rape culture on Australian university campuses.
In the history of Australia, there are a variety of people in their respective areas have made outstanding achievements, made a contribution to the identity of Australia. Among these people, Anh Do is probably the most instructive and interesting person. As his book "happy refugees" implied, Anh experienced suffering in his early years. At the same time, he has maintained an optimistic attitude, this pain into an inspirational story, to share with you. At present, Anh has made achievements in various fields such as writers, films, television, artists, live performances and corporate speeches (Anhdo.com.au 2017). Anne 's story is sure to shape the identity of Australia. This report will analyze the achievements of Anhe and his
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
In 1967, a landmark event occurred for the Indigenous Community of Australia. They were no longer declared Flora and Fauna This means that Aboriginal people would be considered a part of the landscape and not humans in their own right.. In 1967, a Referendum was held by all members of Australian society voting on the issue of allowing Indigenous Australian to be a part of the census and thereby able to vote and be counted as part of Australia’s population. This achieved not only citizenship for Aboriginal people, but put the issue of Indigenous Rights on both the political and social platforms. This essay will look at the lead up to the Referendum, how Aborigines and their supporters communicated their belief in their rights to the
Over the past 230 years, Aboriginals have protested in many different ways to gain rights, which they believe they are deserving of. Through aims of what they wanted to achieve, the processes they went through brought them disappointment over the poor results of some actions and pleasure over the success of others. Over those years, very few periods of protest have been as revelational or effective as the protests occurring between 1938 and 1972. During this period many different groups of Aboriginals have fought for the common cause of being recognised as people rather than interferences caught in the midst of Australians expansion as a nation.
People affected by Cronulla Riots in any manner were ‘out of the frying pan, and were into the fire’, when the documentary displayed Prime Minister John Howard declaring the riots as “un-Australian”. He made us believe that his view was optimistic and disagrees that there is underlying racism in Australia.
Australia in the early 1900s has developed a reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’ for its greater opportunity to success and an egalitarian society. However not all workers proved this to be true. In order to determine this statement, Issues to be discussed include firstly the hours of work for different genders, secondly the working conditions and finally the dispute for the right to fair treatment to women and Aboriginal natives throughout the 19th century.
Earlier this year, thousands of indigenous Australians and activist marched in major cities across Australia, arguing that January 26 shouldn’t be celebrated as its marks a day of mourning for many people.