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The 1967 referendum is shrouded in myth and symbolism. The symbolism has proved valuable, as the referendum result exposed overwhelming public support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In 1967, Australians overwhelmingly voted Yes in a referendum to change parts of the Constitution relating to Aborigines. This referendum is now seen as a turning point in our history.
While it was not an instant fix for all the problems besetting Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, it set Australians on the path to reconciliation.

Larissa Behrendt says we need to face facts about what the 1967 referendum didn't achieve

The referendum asked Australians two questions, the first of which referred to the balance of numbers in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
It was the second question that held significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. It asked whether people believed references to Aboriginal people in the constitution should be removed: one prevented the Commonwealth from making laws in respect to Indigenous people, and another asserted Indigenous people could not be included in the census.

Focuses on the acquisition by Indigenous Australians of civil rights during the 1960s and the 1970s. Information on the domestic and international activism that existed in the early to mid 1960s; Discussion on the 1967 equal wage decision; Importance of the 1967 referendum for the civil rights movement; Legal and political grounds for the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975.

Indigenous Rights is volume 366 in the ‘Issues in society’ series of educational resource books.
The aim of this series is to offer current, diverse information about important issues in our world, from an Australian perspective.

On 27 May 1967 a remarkable event occurred. An overwhelming majority of electors voted in a national referendum to amend clauses of the Australian Constitution concerning Aboriginal people. Today it is commonly regarded as a turning point in the history of relations between Indigenous and white Australians. This was the historic moment when citizenship rights were granted - including the vote - and the Commonwealth at long last assumed responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. But the referendum did none of these things. ‘The 1967 Referendum’ explores the legal and political significance of the referendum and the long struggle by black and white Australians for constitutional change. It traces the emergence of a series of powerful narratives about the Australian Constitution and the status of Aborigines, revealing how and why the referendum campaign acquired so much significance, and has since become the subject of highly charged myth in contemporary Australia.

The 1967 referendum was the most successful referendum ever held in this country, with 90% of Australians voting yes. A lot of people wrongly believed that the 1967 referendum gave Aboriginal people the right to vote and granted them citizenship. Now that had already happened. What it did do was give the Commonwealth power to make special laws for Aboriginal people, and Aboriginal people were finally also included in the census.

This year's referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to parliament invites a reflection on the 1967 referendum, in which more than 90% voted to include First Nations peoples in the census. Kamilaroi/Uralarai woman Frances Peters-Little directed the 2007 film, Vote Yes For Aborigines, which explores the political context in the lead-up to the 1967 referendum and its aftermath. Green Left's Isaac Nellist spoke to Peters-Little.

NITV - 8 mins 28 secs

At first, many people 'didn't realise the constitution ignored Aboriginal people's rights' - but that all changed in the 1960s, writes Stefanie Menezes.

Even though the voice of the Australian government
imparts the message that non-Aborigines should not feel guilt for the atrocities committed by their ancestors, a majority of Australians believe, within this global momentum for reform, that it is time to make amends.

Indigenous Rights is volume 366 in the ‘Issues in society’ series of educational resource books.
The aim of this series is to offer current, diverse information about important issues in our world, from an Australian perspective.

In 1965, kids enjoying a summertime swim at a local pool in a small country town became a potent symbol of the fight against entrenched racial discrimination in Australia.

From 1965's Freedom Ride to the Voice in 2023, Indigenous Australians reflect on decades of protest, writes Lisa Visentin.
Mary Purse was 10 years old when the busload of Sydney University students came to town. Led by the young firebrand activist Charles Perkins, the group pulled up in the remote town of Walgett as part of a 15-day tour in 1965 to expose segregationist policies in hotels, pubs, theatres, clothes shops and even cafes in country NSW.

Ann Curthoys's new book on the 1965 Freedom Ride is a timely reminder of what we were like at our worst, and how close we still are to the abyss, says Robert Messenger.

In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) in the 1940s and 1950s, Aboriginal people lived under a regime of confinement, segregation and discrimination. If residing on an official reserve or station, they were restricted in their movements and subject to the control and surveillance of the Aborigines Welfare Board. If living in towns or cities, they were subject to exclusion from, or segregation in, schools, hospitals, cinemas, swimming pools and hotel bars.

At first, many people 'didn't realise the constitution ignored Aboriginal people's rights' - but that all changed in the 1960s, writes Stefanie Menezes.

Even though the voice of the Australian government
imparts the message that non-Aborigines should not feel guilt for the atrocities committed by their ancestors, a majority of Australians believe, within this global momentum for reform, that it is time to make amends.

Abstract. Aboriginal Australians have traditionally enjoyed little protection from the
law. The matter of land has been at the heart of white settler/Aboriginal relations
since the nation was first founded. It is only recently that recognition has been given
to the land rights of Australian indigenous people. This recognition was finally made
at the property law level in 1992 through the High Court decision in Mabo v. Queens-
land

Indigenous Rights is volume 366 in the ‘Issues in society’ series of educational resource books.
The aim of this series is to offer current, diverse information about important issues in our world, from an Australian perspective.

Even though the voice of the Australian government
imparts the message that non-Aborigines should not feel guilt for the atrocities committed by their ancestors, a majority of Australians believe, within this global momentum for reform, that it is time to make amends.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights in Australia refer to the ongoing struggle for Indigenous Australians to assert their rights and claim ownership, access and control over traditional lands and waters. The history of Aboriginal land rights in Australia is complex and spans centuries of dispossession, colonisation and activism.

This weeks marks 30 years since the Mabo case paved the way for native title and land rights.: Unfinished business: This week marks 30 years since the Mabo case paved the way for native title and land rights.

The High Court's decision in the Mabo case in June 1992 is likely to have a lasting effect on Australian political debate for many years. The High Court affirmed that a form of 'native title' continues to exist in Australia. and overturned the concept of terra nullius. The decision could represent the beginning of a significant historic change in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

This report is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge the hardships they endured and the sacrifices they made. We remember and lament all the children who will never come home.
We dedicate this report with thanks and admiration to those who found the
strength to tell their stories to the Inquiry and to the generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families and communities.

Indigenous Rights is volume 366 in the ‘Issues in society’ series of educational resource books.
The aim of this series is to offer current, diverse information about important issues in our world, from an Australian perspective.

The Stolen Generation refers to a dark period in Australian history when thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly taken away from their families by government authorities, churches, and welfare organisations. The impacts of the Stolen Generations are profound, with enduring intergenerational trauma and loss of cultural connections.

13 February 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, who suffered as a result of past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. It is important, that as a nation, we commemorate this significant
milestone, acknowledging the wrongs of the past, while reflecting on the work that still needs to be done to address the impacts of
unresolved trauma.

Even though the voice of the Australian government
imparts the message that non-Aborigines should not feel guilt for the atrocities committed by their ancestors, a majority of Australians believe, within this global momentum for reform, that it is time to make amends.

MAY 26 is National Sorry Day: a day for focussing on reconciliation, repair and honour for the Stolen Generations.

WHEN the Bringing Them Home report came out in 1997, it resonated widely throughout Australia. Nearly a million people signed Sorry Books, and hundreds of communities arranged events on Sorry Day in 1998. In response, members of the stolen generations launched a Journey of Healing, to offer everyone the chance to help heal this deep wound in our national life.

WITH just 361 words, the federal Parliament today will seek to heal the hurt caused by past decades of state-sponsored ill-treatment of all indigenous Australians - not just those forcibly removed as children from their families.

To explore these issues, I offer a case study of Australian responses to the Stolen Generations in human rights, law, and literature—fields in which trauma theory has significant purchase. The term "Stolen Generations" refers to children of mixed descent who were removed from their Indigenous mothers and communities with the aim of assimilating them into white Australian culture.

Among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Indigenous peoples of Australia, lateral violence is said to ‘thrive’ as a result of the historical and ongoing oppression they experience as part of settler-
colonialism.

This article explores the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal during the Stolen Generations era, considering the ongoing impacts of this history on First Nations families today. While there have been changes, I identify significant continuities between past and contemporary child removal. These disturbing resonances of the past highlight the failed promise of Australian governments to deliver meaningful change in contemporary First Nations child removal policies and practices and to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not being repeated.