In 1965, a group of students from the University of Sydney drew national and international attention to the appalling living conditions of Aboriginal people and the racism that was rife in New South Wales country towns. Known as the Freedom Ride, this 15-day bus journey through regional New South Wales would become a defining moment in Australian activism.<\/p>", "subject_keywords": [ "nsw", "activism", "civilrights", "aboriginalaustralia", "equality", "justice" ], "recordtype": "Placename", "linkback": "https:\/\/aiatsis.gov.au\/explore\/1965-freedom-ride", "warning": "
Please be aware that readers may find some of the language and content distressing. <\/p>", "creator": "Dr Jacqueline Wright", "publisher": "TLCMap", "contact": "jacqui.wright@newcastle.edu.au", "source_url": "https:\/\/aiatsis.gov.au\/explore\/1965-freedom-ride", "rights": "
This map has been adapted from a page on the AIATSIS website<\/a>. Quotes from Charles Perkins are taken from A Bastard Like Me<\/em>, <\/em>(published by <\/em>URE Sydney, 1975). Quotes from Ann Curthoys are from her diaries which are digitised in the AIATSIS Collection.<\/p>",
"citation": " https:\/\/aiatsis.gov.au\/explore\/1965-freedom-ride<\/p>\r\n https:\/\/aiatsis.gov.au\/collection\/featured-collections\/ann-curthoys-diaries<\/p>\r\n https:\/\/aiatsis.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/catalogue_resources\/ms3759_fcaatsi_0.pdf<\/p>\r\n https:\/\/www.screenaustralia.gov.au\/the-screen-guide\/t\/freedom-ride-1993\/9358\/<\/p>",
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"description": "Well, we hired the bus. We placed a banner along the front and prepared to start off from Sydney. The Rev Ted said a prayer on the steps for those who like that sort of thing. I was one, I needed that kind of help.'\u2013 Charles Perkins",
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"description": "Houses of tin, mud floors, very overcrowded, kids had eye diseases, had to cart water (very unhealthy) from river\u2026 Jim S and a few others came across some discrimination in a pub. An aboriginal was allowed in only because he was with us. The publican said he only prevented aborigines from coming in \u2018if they were disorderly\u2019\u2026 Left Wellington and arrived in Dubbo about 6.30 pm. Had tea, went for a swim, then to the Dubbo hotel. We noticed a sign above the doorway of the halfway hotel \u2013 \"Aborigines not allowed in the lounge without the Licensee's permission\".'\u00a0 \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "We just stood in a long line outside the RSL holding placards like \"Acceptance, Not Segregation\" \"End Colour Bar\" \"Bullets did not Discriminate\" \"Walgett - Australia's Disgrace\" \"Why Whites Only\" \"Educate the Whites\" and so on. People gathered round, many jeering, many just watching\u2026 At lunchtime many heated discussions broke out. Charlie Perkins spoke terrifically and I think most people listened very attentively. As time went on, more and more aborigines joined in the discussions.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys. All the members of the RSL had to pass right past us and they read the banners. They either laughed at us or spat at us or on the banners. Some of them got banners and tore them up. Some of the local smarties wanted to bash a few of us up. They said, \u2018You\u2019re stirring up trouble. The dirty niggers don\u2019t deserve any better and they are happy how they are...'A couple of the Aborigines started to talk to me then. I said, \"Look, you blokes have to stand up for yourselves. We are willing enough to stand here but you people have to do it from this week on. No one is going to stand up for you but yourselves. If you don\u2019t do it now, your kids will be in the same position as you are when they grow up.\" 'A few blokes from a big group of whites were becoming really hostile\u2026 Suddenly a black woman came out of the crowd, followed by a few other Aboriginal women. They called back to most of the vocal white men: \"Listen! You whites come down to our camp and chase our young girls around at night! You were down there last night. I know you!\" And she called out some names. \"I saw you last night! It\u2019s no good tellin\u2019 me how good you treat us Aborigines. All you do is chase Aboriginal women in the dark. Why don\u2019t you go back and tell your wives where you\u2019ve been? They\u2019re over there in the crowd! Go on, tell them.\" The Aboriginal woman told them off right in front of everybody, yelling at one bloke in particular: \"You there, you\u2019re nothing but a gin jockey!\" When the Aboriginal woman pointed to a few other white fellows, you should have seen that crowd break up. It was as if someone had thrown a bomb amongst them. She kept on yelling, \"Yes, and you! And you! You were there a week ago! You have been going with my sister for two years in the dark! What about tellin\u2019 your wife about her? Tell her about the little baby boy you\u2019ve given her!\" The crowd dispersed in minutes as a result of this Aboriginal woman\u2019s revelations, and Walgett would never be the same again.' \u2013 Charles Perkins",
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"description": "The mission had much better housing etc. than we'd seen anywhere, but there was a manager in control who was apparently very disliked and seemed rather unpleasant. We did the picket, but nobody much came around, and we all boiled, it was very hot. Then we went to the swimming pool. The manager refused to let the six aboriginals in and so we held up our posters and signs. After about 25 mins they let the boys in. Then Charlie arrived with a bus load of 21 aboriginal boys and they had to be all let in. We went back to the hall, had tea, and then went off to the Memorial Hall for the public meeting we'd arranged. There were over 200 people there and at first the atmosphere was very hostile, with lots of jeering and interjection. Jim Spigelman spoke first, about who we were and how we came to be there. Then John Powles, on the survey. Then Charlie. The questions were sometimes antagonistic but there were some very sympathetic ones too. Then a Mr Kelly got up and moved that the clause in the statute books about segregation in the swimming pool be removed. This was seconded by Bob Brown, and accepted 88 votes to 10. We were all thrilled to bits.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "We went around and spoke to a lot of people. Many of them told us that the manager had told them not to answer our questions, but they intended to do so anyway. The houses were weatherboard and very overcrowded. There was no water on, but the river water was taken to taps in the yard. There was no gas or anything, and no electricity (I think). Very often there weren't windows and doors. We heard some terrible stories such as the fact that the police came in the houses without knocking whenever they liked, to find out who had been drinking. Also they \u2018did what they liked with the women\u2019. \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "There we heard from Bob Brown that they day after we left Moree (yesterday) about 60 aboriginal children tried to get in the pool after school. Up to 5.30 about 30 were allowed in, some with Bob Brown, others not. At 5.30 pm the manager refused to allow any more aborigines in and at 6pm the baths were closed (usually they stay open till 8pm). The baths opened again at 7pm and soon after this the mayor stated that the segregationalist statute of June 6th 1955 would be enforced.\u00a0We decided, after much heated discussion, to go straight to Inverell, thus leaving out Tabulam... From there we would go straight to Moree and take strong action of some kind, such as a 24hr picket or something. The decision was unanimous.' \u2013 Ann Curthoy",
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"description": "When we got down to the pool I said, \"I want a ticket for myself and these ten Aboriginal kids behind me. Here\u2019s the money.\" \"Sorry, darkies not allowed in,\" replied the baths manager. The manager was a real tough looking bloke too. He frightened me. We decided to block up the gate: \"Nobody gets through unless we get through with all the Aboriginal kids!\" And the crowd came, hundreds of them. They were pressing about twenty deep around the gate...The mayor ordered the police to have us removed from the gate entrance. They took hold of my arm and the struggle started. There was a lot of pushing and shoving and spitting. Rotten tomatoes, fruit and eggs began to fly, then the stones were coming over and bottles too. The mob from the hotel across the road decided that they were going to show these university students and niggers and black so-and-so\u2019s whose town this was. They came over and did most of the kicking, throwing and punching, and the spitting.'\u2013 Charles Perkins. 'The police came up and warned us that if we stayed the violence would get much worse. We decided to stay, continuing to insist on being allowed to enter the pool with the aboriginal children. Tomatoes and eggs continued to be thrown...Then - breakthrough! The mayor came up to us and stated categorically that he would be prepared to sign a motion to rescind the 1955 statute we were protesting against, and would get two other aldermen to co-sign it.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys. ' 'They let the kids in for a swim and we went in with them. We had broken the ban! Everybody came in! We saw the kids into the pool first and we had a swim with them. The Aboriginal kids had broken the ban for the first time in the history of Moree. The police then asked us to leave because the crowd was becoming uglier and there were fights breaking out. It was getting dark too. A lot of the blokes were really set on giving us a going-over. The police called in more reinforcements and formed a solid line of police to the bus. It was not very wide and we had to go through it\u2026I was literally covered in spit.' \u2013 Charles Perkins. 'We walked single file though the crowd who threw eggs, tomatoes, stones, and spat at us. We bundled into the bus and closed all the windows. Eggs and tomatoes were still thrown. Then we all moved off. About 30 cars tried to follow us but the police stopped them. We got first place in the 11 o'clock news.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "We'd hardly arrived when this woman, the president or secretary or something of a local Aborigines Welfare Committee, assured us there was no discrimination in Bowraville, and told us all about how wonderful her committee was.\u00a0A group of us went out to the reserve which was about one and a half miles out of town. It was controlled by the Welfare Board but didn't have a manager\u2026 The conditions were very bad. The houses were weatherboard, very run down, and hadn't been looked after for 15 years (the houses were 26 years old). They were extremely overcrowded. The general picture we got from talking to the people on the reserve was one of extreme lack of job opportunity\u2026 The discrimination in the town was absolutely shocking - by far the worst we'd encountered. We learnt there was a partition in the picture theatre separating the aborigines from the whites. The aborigines had to buy their tickets separately and could only enter the theatre after the picture had started. We learnt of a number of segregated pubs and cafes, and of instances of segregation in the school about 6 years earlier. The two populations were almost completely separate. At first we weren't sure where to start - the town was just so bad. We thought the press could blow up a big story about it, but they refused, obviously instigating us to put on a demonstration. 'We decided to first go up to the manager of the picture theatre, who had previously told Hall that he would let no aborigines in the back of the picture hall, including Charlie Perkins. We went up to see him but he refused to answer the door. The press got a photo of him opening the door slightly and shut it.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "The general picture in Kempsey re discrimination was that everything was fair (a cafe here and a pub there excepted), but the segregation of the swimming pool was the most outstanding thing. We took about 10-15 kids with us to the swimming pool. They weren't allowed in and neither were Charlie or Gary. Absolutely blatant. Charlie was very emphatic about the success of it because of the publicity, but most of the rest of us thought it an absolute flop because we had failed to force the issue within Kempsey itself. We all realised Kempsey had ignored us, which was precisely what we didn't want. \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "'Stopped at the Purfleet reserve for half an hour, talking to the people there.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "'We got all tense etc near the end, because of the press conference. Had tea at Hornsby and then drove on to Uni. When we arrived there was Ted Noffs, a few pressmen, some parents etc. and that's about all. No aborigines or other supporters. We found out later that Noffs had deliberately not told anyone where and when we were arriving.' \u2013 Ann Curthoys",
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"description": "Charles Perkins reported the events to a crowd of 200 people at the 1965 Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) conference in Canberra. 'The problem is out in the open now', he told them. He called for necessary follow-up work such as the building of relationships with local Aboriginal groups and improved services and access to education for Aboriginal residents in western New South Wales towns. Conference goers heard that one positive result of the students' activities was that the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board publicly announced that it would spend sixty-five thousand pounds on housing in Moree. Later in the year, Harry Hall, president of the Walgett Aborigines' Progressive Association, appealed to Perkins and other Aboriginal activists to return to Walgett to assist in the fight against the colour bar being applied at the Oasis Hotel. Perkins and others returned to help. The SAFA engaged in further visits to country towns later in the year but, by the end of 1966, it was finished as a political force. The 1965 Freedom Ride through New South Wales towns and the publicity it gained, including in overseas newspapers such as the New York Times, illuminated to the world the racial discrimination happening in Australia. While the life of the Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA) was relatively short, the Ride had a lasting impact and served to strengthen the campaigns that followed to bring about greater equality and recognition for Aboriginal people.",
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