On the 26th of January, White-Australian’s all around Australia celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet to Port Jackson. To many, it was seen as a day to commemorate the growth and progress of Australia, but to the Indigenous community this day symbolised the ‘frightful conditions’ (Jack Patten, 1938) that the they were forced into and was referred to as ‘The Day of Mourning’. Three Indigenous men saw this day as an opportunity to raise awareness for the mistreatment and discrimination shown towards their people. William Cooper, William Ferguson and Jack Patten revealed a petition seeking equal citizen rights for the Indigenous people. The protest commenced with a march at Sydney’s Town Hall and involved not only …show more content…
The meeting was intended for all Aboriginal people and around 1000 people attended deeming it one of the first mass civil rights gatherings. During the meeting, Jack Patten and William Ferguson distributed pamphlets called ‘Aborigines Claim Citizenship Rights’ included a statement saying; “You are the New Australians, but we are the Old Australians. We have in our arteries the blood of the Original Australians, who have lived in this land for many thousands of years. You came here only recently, and you took our land away from us by force. You have almost exterminated our people, but there are enough of us remaining to expose the humbug of your claim, as white Australians, to be a civilised, regressive, kindly and humane nation” which showed the Aborigines perspective on their living conditions and constant discrimination by the White Settlers. The methods used in the Day of Mourning protest were somewhat effective as it attracted interest throughout Australia causing support for the protest to rise. The protest was a major step towards redressing the treatment of the Indigenous
“The effective use of television brought racial discrimination in country towns to national attention,” This source tells us, Society’s view started to change from being racist to Aboriginal to accepting their culture as part of Australia. The impact of this was to help the success of the referendum which allowed Aboriginals to vote.” The most successful referendum in Australia’s history was in 1967 by the freedom ride”. This helps emphasise the vital role Charles Perkin had in the Freedom Ride. Despite their difficulties, the aboriginal people benefited from the outcome.
An opposing piece to this, entitled ‘Advance Australia, fair!’ by Tristan Fairchild was published. In his piece, Fairchild uses his experience as a cultural liaison supervisor to persuade his audience that changing the date of Australia day can only be a good thing. Fairchild employed a authoritative and passionate tone to reason that celebrating a day that is viewed as an invasion is un-Australian and that we should rather be celebrating a rich and extensive culture. Joined to this article was a picture of an Aboriginal flag being raised, rather than the British flag, at Botany Bay by James Cook.
Recently a controversy was being raised about changing the date of Australian Day, as it is considered the day when aboriginal lost their land and freedom. The issue is being discussed by the Yarra Council Mayor Cr Amanda Stone, who took the initiative to not only commemorate the British invasion of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islanders land. Her main point in that article is to basically identify the Australian Day as a date which symbolizes loss of culture, language and the identity of ingenious people. This makes sense to us that the people affected by this issue are mainly Australian citizens (Aboriginals). Following this response, another article was published called, ‘Changing the date of Australian Day won’t change our past’ by Joe
One of the most significant events in Aboriginal peoples struggle for rights in Australia was the Mabo decision in 1992. This event took away the myth of terra nullius from Australian law and would recognise rights that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to the land and waters according to tradition. Thus, creating way for the legal recognition of native land titles (Loos & Mabo, 2013). This essay will explain the impact of the Mabo decision, what events led to this event and what impact this has on Australian people today.
The Tent Embassy was one of the most significant protests that shaped land rights and equality for the Aboriginal people. In this process four men set up a tent outside the parliament house and represented the Aboriginals rights. The embassy was formed on the basis that all people are equal and that no person should be discriminated by their skin color. The tent embassy protest changed the motives of Aboriginals and the government, changed the actions and methods of the Aboriginals involved and as a result this protest impacted Indigenous rights and freedom.
This highlights how the acquisition of rights for Aboriginal people was a fractured process as they still faced discrimination in the wake of changes that were meant to work in their favor. Although the Referendum did not increase the rights of Aboriginal people, it is still important in the Aboriginal Rights movement as it created the possibility for the Federation to create laws that could benefit or support Aboriginal
Charles Perkins was an activist who spent most of his life fighting for Indigenous people and their rights. He pushed himself out into a world full of racism, to raise awareness of the issues Indigenous people are facing in education, housing, health and their employment. He was a national spokesperson fighting for the rights of Indigenous people throughout Australia. Perkins through his Freedom Rides fought against racial discrimination towards Indigenous Australians and fought for the concept of ‘closing the gap’, pushing the idea of equal opportunities for Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people inside education and within the community. Charles Nelson Perkins was born in Alice Springs in 1936 to an Arrente mother, Hetty and Kalkadoon father, Connelly .
When looking at these direct factors of why the protest started, it is necissary to understand that more then 100 years of injustices had also lead to this turning point. On the 26th of January 1972 (Australia Day) former prime minister Billy Mcmahan announced that his government would never grant Aboriginal land rights (Tan, 2016). Mcmahon had chosen the most provocative day possible to announce this as many Aboriginal people consider this to be invasion day. In doing so it can Aboriginal activists were forced to make some sort of stand, they chose to do this in the form of a non-violent protest on the lawns parliament house in Canberra. Four activists from Redfern went there and sat on the front lawn in with, at the start, only a beach umbrella (Tan, 2016).
Though we shouldn 't forget the main issue, these boys are a menace to the peaceful vibe overall. Yes that may seem harsh to say, but there are ways to celebrated MLK day. Coco Brown, Pug 's mom, described bike riding as a wau to keep the delinquents off streets even if it 's just for a day. Still, dirt bikes and atv 's do not belong on public roads. Especially if there are other civilians driving on the same road .
Sorry Speech (2007) in the acknowledgement of the maltreatment of Aboriginal people which brought Australia closer to
As patriotic Australians we pride ourselves to be a nation that accepts and respects the beliefs of all cultures, but on this historical day majority of Australians tend to forget the true meaning behind the celebration. If you ask today’s society, what they did this Australia day mass numbers would respond with “binged on alcohol” and “indulged in a barbecue.” Consequently, this day cannot be called a national celebration when some of our fellow Australians are grieving while others are out celebrating an occasion they know little about. Giving due regard to the indigenous people and their mostly negative perspective on this issue should be a priority. A new date, not the 26th of January should be established, as rather than unite, it seems to divide Australians into different viewpoints.
Cromb forcefully implements personal language such as ‘I am a vocal advocate of progressing this nation and relations with Indigenous people through Treaty,’ to indicate that she is actively involved in supporting those of Indigenous origin and, therefore, has a convincing argument. Her involvement in Indigenous relations emphasises her support for changing the date of Australia Day as it shows her physical contributions within the Indigenous community and allows the reader to understand why she is so passionate about the issue. Similarly, Moore says ‘I was alerted to this significant and hugely symbolic occasion by the entirely predictable bleatings of discord from indigenous representatives’. This demonstrates that he is accustomed to the annual bickering that takes place on January 26th about how the date is insensitive to those of Indigenous background. His annoyed and frustrated tone reveals that he is sick of the repeated talk over changing the date.
The constant booing and jeering of the crowds were what Stan Grant referred to as ‘’howls of humiliation’’. It was an unmistakable act of shaming and discrimination towards indigenous people; it was an implication that they are not meant to be a part of the great Australian Dream.
A Powerful Speech Both speeches has the basic idea of a “government of the people.” In Abraham Lincoln’s speech titled “Gettysburg Address,” he tells his audience that the government should be “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Likewise, in the speech addressed as “Funeral Oration,” Pericles, a Greek political leader in the B.C. period, states, “Our constitution is called a democracy, because power rests in the hands not of the few but of the many.” Both leaders clearly know the characteristics of a traditional democracy. Despite Lincoln’s speech possibly being the most famous speech in America, Pericles’ speech has the most irresistible effect because it includes a detailed sequence of how the citizens of a democratic country
With that said, the British went through with the plan of establishing a penal colony in New South Wales and in 1788, the First Fleet led by Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove. This essay will focus on the effects of racism towards the Aboriginal population of Australia in the past and today. Between 1788 and 1900, a large part of Australia’s indigenous population has lost their lives due to miscellaneous diseases. Aboriginal people were introduced to illnesses like smallpox, measles or tuberculosis, which were brought by the British convicts. Indigenous Australians had no immunity to these sicknesses, which led to the diseases spreading at a rapid speed and eradicating a large part of Australia’s indigenous population.