1967 Referendum
1.What is the event/movement/protest? (When and where did it occur):
In 1967, the Australian government held a referendum to allow Indigenous people to be counted in the census and to allow the Commonwealth to make laws relating Indigenous people, rather than each state. It didn’t give them the right to vote or citizenship. The referendum was a nation wide event, held on the 27th of May 1967. There was an overwhelming 90.77% ‘Yes’ vote, the largest ever in an Australian referendum, although it took almost 10 years for the variations to impose change. It was only the fifth of 27 referenda to be passed.
2.What were the aims and objectives of the event, movement or protest?
The aim of the 1967 Referendum was to make changes to both sections 51 and 127 in order to remove the discrimination within these sections of the constitution.
Within Section 51 the text seen in bold was what the referendum aimed to remove. This was seen as a way of combatting discrimination as it mean that Aboriginal people would come to benefit from the uniformity of the law rather then the variation from state to state.
“The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: ... (vvxi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws.”
Within Section 128 the text seen to be bold is the area the referendum aimed to remove. This act now meant that they were now included as apart of the census which in turn lead them to be fully recognized and with the data collected by the census the government would be able to work towards being able to provide for them under a more informed manor.
“In reckoning the numbers of the people of the commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. “
3.What were the methods used to achieve the aims?
Petitioning and campaigns to change the constitution began about 10 years before the referendum. The 1957 Graydon Report shocked White Australia with statistics about blindness, malnutrition and disease from rural Aboriginal communities less than 300km from the West Australian border. A group of Sydney activists also founded the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in 1958. They also brought out petitions and began communications to the church who spread the word as well. Newspaper articles started to run news articles supporting the referendum too, and helping convince the public to vote ‘yes’.
4.Who were the people involved in leading the event, movement or protest?
The campaign that leads up to the 1967 referendum started over ten years earlier. In 1956 Peral Gibbs and Faith Bandler established the Australian Aboriginal Fellowship with plans to work towards a change in the Australian constitution. During 1958 the Federal Council for the Advertisement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) which was dedicated to the voicing the poor treatment, and lower standards of both living and education for Aboriginal people in Australia while aiming to bring a referendum to the Australian Constitution. In 1963 after ten year of collecting over 1 million signature on a petition present to parliament for referendum, this happened without success. The 1965 Freedom Ride round rural NSW led by the Charles Perkins and the Student Action for Aborigines at the University of Sydney, this also helped in highlighting the segregation seen throughout rural New South Whales. Activist also came to enlist in help from churches, service clubs and trade union along with other community groups in order to establish a wider community education to encourage the YES vote. Finally during 1967 the referendum was given power by the Commonwealth and used under the Whitlam Government to create changes within the Constitution.
5.How effective was this in contributing the rights and freedoms of both groups?
The 1967 referendum came to make contributions as it provided a chance for efforts to improve the conditions of Aboriginal Australians, while protecting the cultural heritage as they were now nationally recognised and with better resources. It also came to eliminate the legal traps and unfamiliar laws that were governing their many aspects of their lives and left for many to fall into while crossing between state borders. This also made contributions as it lead to the passing of new laws set to address discrimination, and due to overwhelming majority seen with the ‘yes’ vote if came to hold a lasting significants
6.Explain how useful your chosen primary source has been in finding out about the topic
Our chosen primary source is an original ballot paper from the 1967 referendum. It was useful, because we were able to see exactly what the referendum was changing and how it is set out. It had all of the important information on it such as the exact acts to be changed. It is reliable because it is from the Museum of Victoria, which is a credible resource.
In 1967, the Australian government held a referendum to allow Indigenous people to be counted in the census and to allow the Commonwealth to make laws relating Indigenous people, rather than each state. It didn’t give them the right to vote or citizenship. The referendum was a nation wide event, held on the 27th of May 1967. There was an overwhelming 90.77% ‘Yes’ vote, the largest ever in an Australian referendum, although it took almost 10 years for the variations to impose change. It was only the fifth of 27 referenda to be passed.
2.What were the aims and objectives of the event, movement or protest?
The aim of the 1967 Referendum was to make changes to both sections 51 and 127 in order to remove the discrimination within these sections of the constitution.
Within Section 51 the text seen in bold was what the referendum aimed to remove. This was seen as a way of combatting discrimination as it mean that Aboriginal people would come to benefit from the uniformity of the law rather then the variation from state to state.
“The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: ... (vvxi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws.”
Within Section 128 the text seen to be bold is the area the referendum aimed to remove. This act now meant that they were now included as apart of the census which in turn lead them to be fully recognized and with the data collected by the census the government would be able to work towards being able to provide for them under a more informed manor.
“In reckoning the numbers of the people of the commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. “
3.What were the methods used to achieve the aims?
Petitioning and campaigns to change the constitution began about 10 years before the referendum. The 1957 Graydon Report shocked White Australia with statistics about blindness, malnutrition and disease from rural Aboriginal communities less than 300km from the West Australian border. A group of Sydney activists also founded the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in 1958. They also brought out petitions and began communications to the church who spread the word as well. Newspaper articles started to run news articles supporting the referendum too, and helping convince the public to vote ‘yes’.
4.Who were the people involved in leading the event, movement or protest?
The campaign that leads up to the 1967 referendum started over ten years earlier. In 1956 Peral Gibbs and Faith Bandler established the Australian Aboriginal Fellowship with plans to work towards a change in the Australian constitution. During 1958 the Federal Council for the Advertisement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) which was dedicated to the voicing the poor treatment, and lower standards of both living and education for Aboriginal people in Australia while aiming to bring a referendum to the Australian Constitution. In 1963 after ten year of collecting over 1 million signature on a petition present to parliament for referendum, this happened without success. The 1965 Freedom Ride round rural NSW led by the Charles Perkins and the Student Action for Aborigines at the University of Sydney, this also helped in highlighting the segregation seen throughout rural New South Whales. Activist also came to enlist in help from churches, service clubs and trade union along with other community groups in order to establish a wider community education to encourage the YES vote. Finally during 1967 the referendum was given power by the Commonwealth and used under the Whitlam Government to create changes within the Constitution.
5.How effective was this in contributing the rights and freedoms of both groups?
The 1967 referendum came to make contributions as it provided a chance for efforts to improve the conditions of Aboriginal Australians, while protecting the cultural heritage as they were now nationally recognised and with better resources. It also came to eliminate the legal traps and unfamiliar laws that were governing their many aspects of their lives and left for many to fall into while crossing between state borders. This also made contributions as it lead to the passing of new laws set to address discrimination, and due to overwhelming majority seen with the ‘yes’ vote if came to hold a lasting significants
6.Explain how useful your chosen primary source has been in finding out about the topic
Our chosen primary source is an original ballot paper from the 1967 referendum. It was useful, because we were able to see exactly what the referendum was changing and how it is set out. It had all of the important information on it such as the exact acts to be changed. It is reliable because it is from the Museum of Victoria, which is a credible resource.