Student Action for Aborigines bus outside the Hotel Bogabilla in February 1965

The Freedom Ride of 1965 was a journey undertaken by a group of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait ...

in a bus across

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, led by Charles Perkins. Its aim was to bring to the attention of the public the extent of racial discrimination in Australia, and it was a significant event in the history of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

for

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

Description

Inspired by the

Freedom Riders Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions ''Morgan v. Virginia'' ...

of the

American Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...

, in 1964 students from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

formed a group called the Student Action for Aborigines, led by Charles Perkins (the first Indigenous Australian to graduate

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

) among others, and travelled into

country towns on what some of them considered a fact-finding mission. What they encountered was ''de facto''

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

; the students protested, picketed, and faced violence, raising the issue of Indigenous rights. They commonly stood protesting for hours at segregated areas such as pools, parks and pubs which raised a mixed reception in the country towns. Australia overwhelmingly passed a

1967 referendum The 1967 Australian referendum occurred on 27 May 1967 under the Holt Government. It contained three topics asked about in two questions, regarding the passage of two bills to alter the Australian Constitution. The first question (''Constitution ...

removing discriminatory sections from the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the A ...

and enabling the federal government to take direct action in Aboriginal affairs. At the time of the Freedom Ride in 1965, some Aboriginal People of Australia were counted separately in the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

and their rights as citizens were regularly ignored. In 1964 a University of Sydney protest against

racial segregation in the United States In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation on racial grounds. The term is mainly used in reference to the legally ...

had brought comments from members of the public urging students to look to their own backyard if they wanted to draw attention to racial discrimination.

Participants

The original Freedom Riders were: Charles Perkins, Gary Williams, Aidan Foy, Alan Outhred, Alex Mills,

Ann Curthoys Ann Curthoys, (born 5 September 1945) is an Australian historian and academic. Early life and education Curthoys was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 5 September 1945, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney. In 1 ...

, Barry Corr, Beth Hansen, Bob Gallagher, Brian Aarons, Chris Page, Colin Bradford, Darce Cassidy, Vince Copley, David Pepper, Derek Molloy,

Hall Greenland Hall Barry Greenland (born 1944), is an Australian political activist. He participated in the Freedom Rides. He studied history at the University of Sydney in the 1960s and was a president of the Labor Club in 1964. As an editor of ''Honi Soit ...

, Helen Gray, Jim Spigelman, John Butterworth, John Gowdie, John Powles, Judith Rich, Louise Higham, Machteld Hali, Norm Mackay, Paddy Dawson, Pat Healy, Ray Leppik, Rick Collins, Robyn Iredale, Sue Johnston, Sue Reeves, Warwick Richards, and Wendy Golding.

Communities visited

The first two towns they went to were

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

and Gulargambone. Protests were not conducted there. Instead the locals were asked questions which affirmed perceptions of how bad

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

against Indigenous Australians was in rural areas. Moving on to

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145. In the 2 ...

, some clear cases of racial discrimination were apparent. It proved to be the first real showdown for the Freedom Riders. They spent their first day conducting interviews to obtain information about segregation and racial discrimination and found that the cinema, the Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) club, the town's two hotels and a frock shop were all segregated. The Freedom Riders picketed the Walgett RSL club from noon until sunset, holding placards stating "Walgett: Australian's disgrace", "Bar the Colour Bar", "Good enough for Tobruk - why not Walgett RSL?". While their protest did little to change the attitudes of the townsfolk, they encouraged the Aboriginal community to push for change. Aboriginal people who participated in pickets were bitter at the ongoing discrimination they experienced in their town and they continued to protest and agitate for desegregation in the establishments that still upheld a colour ban after the protesters left. However, a report by Bruce Maxwell, a cadet reporter for ''The Herald'', brought the SAFA Freedom Ride into the national spotlight. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' and '' The Daily Mirror'' newspapers as well as TV and radio now began to report on the next stage of the Freedom Ride in Moree. CC-BY icon

Text has been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. After leaving Walgett, an unidentified driver rammed the bus, forcing it off the road. Because cadet reporter Bruce Maxwell had come along, the incident made headlines in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', attracting the attention of international media. Some reports compared the treatment of Aboriginal Australians to the

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

and segregation in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Moree was the site of a violent conflict during the Freedom Ride when the students tried to assist children from a nearby reserve to enter the

Moree Swimming Baths Moree Baths and Swimming Pool is a heritage-listed swimming pool at Anne Street, Moree, New South Wales, Moree, New South Wales, Australia. It was the site of one of the successful protests by Aboriginal Australians for their rights during the ...

, and were obstructed by supporters of the race-ban. At that time, Aboriginal people were not allowed in pubs or clubs or at the swimming pool, or to walk on the sidewalk, or play football in the local team. The local cinema was segregated - Blacks had to sit in the front rows. The Freedom Riders collected a number of children from the local mission, including nine-year-old Dan Moree (son of

Lyall Munro Snr Lyall Munro Snr (30 September 1931– 21 May 2020), also known as Uncle Lyall Munro Senior, was an Aboriginal Australian activist, leader, and elder, especially known for his advocacy of Indigenous land rights. He was the husband of Carmine ...

, brother of

Lyall Munro Jnr Lyall Thomas Munro Jnr (born 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian elder, a former activist and member of many organisations serving Aboriginal Australians. He is known as a local leader in the town of Moree, New South Wales. he is the son of Lyall ...

], who was 13 at the time), and tried to gain entry into the

. Lyall Munro Snr told

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

in 2017 that he and the Moree Aboriginal Advancement Committee had been fighting to change the town's segregationist

by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authori ...

s for years before the Freedom Riders arrived, but not in a confrontational way. "...So we stood and watched in the crowd. It was their day and it was an ugly scene, pretty rowdy, pretty wild — a lot of violence". The event was widely covered by the media at home and internationally, and it caught the attention of the Australian public, proving to be a "seminal moment" in the history of Australia. A public meeting took place in the town afterwards, and the decision was taken to lift the

colour bar Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

on the pool. Other towns that were visited include Lismore,

Bowraville Bowraville is a small town in the Mid North Coast hinterland of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. The town is known for tourism with attractions such as a folk museum, a war museum, a historic theatre, and other historic building ...

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Go ...

, and Kempsey.

Impact and legacy

During and immediate aftermath

The Freedom Ride resulted in Aboriginal children having full access to the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool. ''

Crux Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin f ...

'', the

Australian Student Christian Movement The Australian Student Christian Movement (ASCM), formerly the Australasian Student Christian Union, is a Christian group with an ecumenical focus working with university students. History Described as a "university within a university", the AS ...

journal, ran a special issue on "Aborigines", which included a guest editorial on the significance of the Freedom Ride. Cartoonists including John Frith also addressed the topic. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and other overseas newspapers reported on the events. Later that year, Perkins later related what happened to the 200 people attending the

Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), founded in Adelaide, South Australia, as the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) on 16 February 1958, was a civil rights organisation which ...

(FCAATSI) conference in Canberra. Soon after the Freedom Ride, the NSW

Aborigines Welfare Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...

announced that it would spend ₤65,000 on housing in Moree. The Australian Black Power movement emerged in Redfern in Sydney, Fitzroy, Melbourne, and South Brisbane, following the Freedom Ride, and there followed a period of Aboriginal activism across Australia. Perkins and other activists returned to Walgett later in to assist in the fight against the

applied at the Oasis Hotel.

Ongoing impact

It opened the eyes of non-Indigenous Australians, especially those living in cities, the

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

that was occurring in their country, as well as revealing it to a world audience. is today remembered as a significant event in the history of

for

, and a turning point for

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

. It has continued to serve as an inspiration for Aboriginal rights activists.

Re-enactments

2005

In 2005 another ride travelled through New South Wales. The aim was to determine how much had changed in 40 years and foster debate on

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

. Although the 2005 event focussed on reconciliation, experiences of discrimination were reported and the poor housing conditions for some Aboriginal People were noted. The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

Andrew Refshauge Andrew John Refshauge (born on 16 January 1949) was a former Australian politician who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1983 and 2005, and a senior minister in ...

was presented with the findings of the 2005 ride which visited more than 13 communities.

2015

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Ride, two coaches re-ran the route with several of the original participants and a group of present-day University of Sydney students. This was featured in an episode of the SBS programme ''

Living Black ''Living Black'' is a current affairs program aired on SBS, Australia, addressed primarily to the interests of Australia's indigenous community. Karla Grant has been executive producer of this program, which she developed, since 2002. She has al ...

''.

References

External links

{{commons category, Freedom Ride (Australia)
Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: Freedom Ride, 1965

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

Ann Curthoys' diaries of the 1965 Freedom Ride
1965 protests Conflicts in 1965 History of Indigenous Australians Civil rights protests History of New South Wales 1965 in Australia Organisations serving Indigenous Australians Protests in Australia 1960s in New South Wales Moree Plains Shire Anti-racism in Australia