Collaborating for Indigenous Rights 1957–1973

Overview

The fifteen years from the late 1950s to the early 1970s was a time of unusual collaboration between black and white activists in Australia. Alliances were formed between Aboriginal Australians motivated to help their people and white Australians wanting to redress the injustices suffered by dispossessed peoples in the building of the Australian state. This site tells their stories.

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 Struggle for Land Rights documents the concurrent campaigns to develop and disseminate an argument – moral, legal and economic – for an Indigenous right to land at a time when mining companies and governments were working together to develop mines in Aboriginal reserves.

Explore the map … all of the histories on this site are mapped in Google Maps.
Or just jump in! Click on the images below to jump to people or topics deep within the site.

The organisations mentioned here are of different kinds. A number of them were affiliated to the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. There were 68 such organisations at the height of FCAATSI’s powers. Some were Aboriginal community organisations, others were unions and religious and political organisations. The Council of Aboriginal Affairs was a government body and the Anti-Slavery Society had its headquarters in London. Explore the list