Cyprus Hellene Club – Australian Hall

NEW SOUTH WALES

On 26 January 1938, the Day of Mourning was held in the centre of Sydney, in the Australian Hall at the Cyprus Hellene Club.

It was attended by some of the most prominent Aboriginal leaders of the day including members of the Aboriginal Advancement League and the Aboriginal Progressive Association. The protestors sought full inclusion of Aboriginal people within the Australian nation. For much of Australia’s history since European settlement, Indigenous people have been treated differently to the general Australian population; denied basic equality with ‘whites’ and rarely given full protection before the law. Indigenous people have long resisted and protested against European settlement of their country. The 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in Australia was a day for some to celebrate and for risked imprisonment, expulsion from their homes and loss others a day to mourn. In November 1937, members of their jobs for participating in the event. Even so, more of the Aboriginal Advancement League and Aboriginal than 100 people attended the Day of Mourning from Progressive Association met in Melbourne and agreed throughout New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. to hold a protest conference in Sydney to coincide with Telegrams of support for the protest also came from across Australia Day celebrations in 1938. The choice of holding Australia, which the organisers believed gave the gathering the Day of Mourning on Australia Day, the national the status and strength of a national action. holiday celebrating the arrival of the First Fleet and the The protest was a statement to the government and birth of Australia, highlighted the exclusion of Aboriginal the people of Australia on this day of celebration of people from the Australian nation. European settlement, but it also had a higher purpose. The Day of Mourning was the first occasion in The Day of Mourning identified a significant collection Australia’s history that Aboriginal people from around of policy issues impacting on Indigenous people and Australia joined together to campaign for equality and proposed recommendations for addressing these issues citizenship rights. through government action. While there has been much progress, many of the political statements from the Day of The Day of Mourning was held in a period when Mourning are still relevant to Indigenous people today. there were restrictions on Aboriginal people’s rights of movement and assembly and so delegates from reserves Indigenous people’s strong association with the site and the events that took place there reflect the outstanding role it played in Australia’s Indigenous political and social history. The site of the Day of Mourning represents Indigenous people’s struggle for the recognition of their civil rights, with the event regarded as one of the most important moments in the history of Indigenous resistance in the early 20th century. National Heritage List: 20 May 2008

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