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Indigenous Rights Movement (Post 1948)

  • Universal Declaration of human rights signed

    Universal Declaration of human rights signed
    The UDHR articles
    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are 30 article that everyone is entitled to.
  • Freedom Rides

    Freedom Rides
    On February 12th - February 26th 1965, a group of University students organised a tour of many western towns in New South Wales. This tour brought to the public's attention of the inadequate health, education and housing standards which the Aboriginals face every day. The Freedom Rides were designed to lessen the socially discriminatory barriers which exist between Aboriginals and white residents.
  • Wave Hill Walk off

    Wave Hill Walk off
    Wave Hill
    The Wave Hill walk off, started in 1966 and went to 1975.
    This is a response to the British Vestey company's refusal for the Gurindji people to receive $25 pay per week, which led many to take a stand against the Vestey Company. The leader was Vincent Lingiari, who entered the public life dramatically, with his more fundamental goal, returning the traditional lands.
  • The Referendum

    The Referendum
    The Liberal government of Harold Holt had rejected the land rights of the Gurindji people at Wave Hill in the Northern Territory.
    The referendum was the most successful ever passed, with 90% of Australians agreeing to the proposal. One of the main issues of contention was the confusion that was created by having different state laws. Many indigenous leaders today question the success of the referendum.
  • Aboriginal Tent Embassy

    Aboriginal Tent Embassy
    Tent Embassy
    Four young Aboriginal men put up a sign which read 'Aboriginal Embassy'. Over the following months, supporters of the embassy increased to 2000. When the police violently dismantled the tents and television film crews captured the violence for the evening news, an outraged public expressed its disgust to the federal government which sparked more support for the group, which opposed the Government
  • Whitlam Government returns Land to the Gurindji people

    Whitlam Government returns Land to the Gurindji people
    Whitlam GovernmentOn August 16, 1975, Gough Whitlam returned the traditional land in the Northern Territory to the Gurindji. This brought an end to their long struggle to reclaim their land. Since 1966, the Gurindji people had been on strike against Vestey's.
  • Mabo Case Ruling in the High Court

    Mabo Case Ruling in the High Court
    The Mabo decision in the High Court was a legal battle started ten years earlier by a group of plaintiffs from the Torres Strait island of Mer, which was to establish their traditional ownership of the Murray Islands.
  • Bringing Them Home Report

    Bringing Them Home Report
    The Bringing them home report or The Stolen Children Report.
    It was a report of the national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their families. The report is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal.