Year 6 History: Australian Citizenship

"This is an overview of the Indigenous rights movement from the beginning of the last century."

"Since 1996 Reconciliation Week has been a time to acknowledge and celebrate the history and culture of Indigenous Australia ... "

"The '65 Freedom Ride exhibition introduces you to the Student Action For Aborigines organisation and explains how students from the University of Sydney drew national and international attention to the poor living conditions of Aboriginal people and the racism that was rife in New South Wales country towns from 12 – 26 February 1965. This event was the beginning of resetting the relationship between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people in contemporary Australia.

"It’s an 800 year old document written on the other side of the world in England on dried animal skin, in a language we no longer use, that most people couldn’t read even back then ... "

"The Fights for Civil Rights tells of the campaigns to include Indigenous Australians as members of Australian society with rights to vote and rights to benefits such as the old age pension ... "

"The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 led to the restriction of non-European migration, which became known as the White Australia Policy ... "

"It was 1962 before all Indigenous Australians gained the right to vote, and another 21 years before voting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples became compulsory ... "

ON 27 MAY 1967, 90.77 per cent of Australians voted 'yes' in a constitutional referendum to improve indigenous rights and award citizenship to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

"Australia has a unique human history. Aboriginal and Torres and Strait Islander peoples,
as the oldest continuing culture in human history, lived here as the traditional custodians
of the land and water for over 55,000 years ... "