Indigenous People's at the turn of the 20th Century
The twentieth century saw the most
significant changes for the Aboriginal population in Australia, both
politically and socially. Indigenous Australians managed to bring out the idea
of equality and freedoms that they were oppressed from receiving. This was due
to the ever increasing aboriginal activism and the beginning of the realisation
of responsibility and rights between the years of 1938 and 1967. Events took
place that empowered this change and brought evermore publicity and action to
this issue. These events included the 1965 freedom rides, 1966 Wave Hill Walk
Off, the 1967 referendum and the 1938 Day of mourning.
The Day of
mourning was symbolic in a way that it marked the 150 years of oppression and
discrimination that the Aborigines had been experiencing. Over 100 aboriginal
leaders and community members gathered at the Australian hall to invoke a
different perspective of how the quincentenary of the first fleet was supposed
to be like. In a speech made by the organisers of the meeting, it was said that
“the 26th of January, 1938 is not a day of rejoicing for Australia's
Aborigines; it is a day of mourning. This festival of 150 years of so-called
'progress' in Australia commemorates also 150 years of misery and degradation
imposed upon the original native inhabitants by the white invaders of this
country”. This speech and the demonstration brought about the idea that the
Aboriginal population were not liberated by the European settlement, in fact
they were oppressed. This event was given heavy publicity and was the first
time that such a large demonstration of oppression against the aborigines took
place and it was to be the inspiration of the many years of aboriginal activism
and freedoms that were going to take place. Although many issues were raised
and were brought to the public’s attention, they were soon forgotten and marked
as non-important as WW2 became the issue that was deemed to be more urgent.
Aboriginal
activism was heavily influenced by major international events such as the
Freedom Rides in America. This was to the extent that a similar event was
staged by an Aboriginal Australian, Charles Perkins, who was the first male
indigenous Australian to graduate university. He, along with the Student Action
for Aborigines group, embarked on a bus tour around New South Wales, in the
hope that they were able to investigate and to expose the discrimination
against aborigines in rural NSW. In the book, “survival: A history of
Aboriginal Life in NSW” by Nigel Parbury,
the segregation revealed by the freedom ride was written “Aboriginal
adults were never allowed in and aboriginal children were only allowed in with
school groups on Wednesdays…aboriginal children had to leave the water and only
white children were allowed to stay”.
Throughout the
entirety of the bus ride, they were met with harsh criticism and racism as they
saw the mistreatment of many indigenous Australians. As they attracted the
media wherever they went they were able to expose the still present discrimination
in Australia, proving that there needed to be change. This event was to be the
first of several events that made a significant impact on the 1967 referendum
and of the social attitudes towards the indigenous peoples.
The 1967
referendum was now seen to be inevitable but was believed by many that it was
too far away. In order to speed up the process and to further emphasise the
need for the liberation of the aborigines several demonstrations were to be
enacted. One of the major and most notable protests was the Wave Hill Walk Off
of 1966. In the 1966 Four Corners episode that covered this event it was said
that “"lack of property rights in their own country is the crux of the
unrest” and that “aborigines need confidence from a firmly based economy to compete in the
Australian scene. Until they get such a stake...confidence seems impossible”.
This episode further emphasised the need for right to be given to the
indigenous population and how it would be detrimental for both parties if nothing
was to change.
This protest was
the first successful land rights campaign and saw the rise of prominent
activists Vincent Lingiari and Mick Rangiari. They managed to expose the
recurrent attitudes towards indigenous workers and how the conditions were
similar to the slavery in many other countries. Although it would be many years
before they were to be given land rights, the event was to be the precursor of the
1975 land hand back made by Gough Whitlam and the native title claims from 1992
onwards. The Gurundji people received much support from their neighbours and
the public community and further caused many protests, both by white and
indigenous Australians that was soon to lead to the 1967 referendum. Public
opinion had begun to change and now it was up to the federal government to
legalise this change.
Public scrutiny
and international movements to free their indigenous population put lots of
pressure on the federal government. This however, allowed for the introduction
of the Referendum. This referendum saw a percentage of over 90% who wanted it
to be passed. This shows the changes that occurred since 1938, how society was
now more accepting and understanding towards the aborigines, due mainly to
aboriginal activism. Oodgeroo Noonuccal spoke about this change saying that
“got once again a tremendous reception from both my own people and the white
race. All the way through, I found that the white race, the white Australian…he
wants to help”. This speech transcribed into the Gordon Bryant Papers, in the
National Library of Australia, showed how increasingly the aboriginal community
were seemingly more accepted, receiving much support for the referendum.
Although the
referendum was not fully functional and did not actually permit land rights or
any other rights for that matter, it did symbolise the beginning of the
political and legal changes in twentieth century Australia. It sparked many
political campaigns and could be justifiably said to be the very factor that we
now see indigenous Australian’s in a better light.
By sheer
persistence and activism, the Aboriginal population managed to begin the long
road of reconciliation and of liberation. They were able to change the social
and political views towards the indigenous peoples and to further raise awareness
of the inequality and degradation that they experienced. Twentieth century
Australia was changed significantly by such events as the 1938 Day of Mourning,
1965 freedom rides, 1966 wave hill walk off and the 1967 referendum to an
extent that now, in the twenty first century, we are finally able to understand
and further the reconciliation and to bridge the gap that was once seen to be
impossible to cross.
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