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Day of Mourning – Overview Fact Sheet

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DAY OF MOURNING 1 Day of Mourning 26 January 1938 DAY OF MOURNING HISTORY Aboriginal controlled Statement of Significance organisations such as the Aboriginal Progressive Association in New South Wales An ongoing fight for This day, a Day of and the Aboriginal Advancement Mourning equal rights League in Victoria. Many members of these organisations On 26 January 1938 the Day of Since European settlement, shared common life experiences; Mourning was held in the centre Aboriginal people have been they grew up on missions or of Sydney, in the Australian Hall treated differently to the general reserves controlled by protection at the Cyprus Hellene Club. It was Australian population; denied boards but were either expelled on attended by some of the most basic equality with 'whites' and disciplinary grounds or left to find prominent Aboriginal leaders of rarely given full protection before work. The experience of living the day including members of the the law. Aboriginal people have under the control of a protection Aboriginal Advancement League long resisted and protested against board on a mission or reserve, and and the Aboriginal Progressive European settlement of their the discrimination they Association. The choice of country. encountered when they moved holding the Day of Mourning on away from these places, united the Australia Day, the national Early protests started in the 1840s members of these early Aboriginal holiday celebrating the arrival of and continued through to the late organisations in their concerns for the first fleet and the birth of 1920s. These were initiated by the lack of civil rights for Australia as a nation, highlighted residents of missions and reserves Aboriginal people, the growth in the exclusion of Aboriginal people as a result of local issues and took the Aboriginal Protection Board's from the Australian nation. the form of letters, petitions and powers and the condition of appeals. In the late 1920s a new people remaining in missions and dynamic began with the creation reserves. of regional and state based 150-2 ELIZABETH ST, SYDNEY 1 The Day of Mourning from the Town Hall steps then recommendations for addressing marched behind the parade to these issues through government Australian Hall. action. While there has been In November 1937 members of progress, many of the political the Aboriginal Advancement The Day of Mourning was held in statements from the Day of League and Aboriginal a period when there were Mourning are still relevant to Progressive Association met in restrictions on Aboriginal people's Aboriginal people today. Melbourne and agreed to hold a rights of movement and assembly protest conference in Sydney to and so delegates from reserves coincide with Australia Day Outstanding heritage risked imprisonment, expulsion celebrations in 1938. They called from their homes and loss of their value to our nation this day the Day of Mourning and jobs for participating in the event. promoted it to the Aboriginal Even so, over 100 people attended The Cyprus Hellene Club - people through radio interviews the Day of Mourning from Australian Hall has outstanding and other media and by visiting throughout New South Wales, cultural heritage values for its some of the Aboriginal reserves. Victoria and Queensland. association with the Aboriginal They also published a pamphlet to Telegrams of support for the Day of Mourning, its connection promote the purpose of the protest protest also came from across with a number of Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal people, though Australia, which the organisers leaders of the time and for the only Aborigines would be believed gave the gathering the strong association Aboriginal permitted to attend. status and strength of a national people continue to have with the action. place. Originally the organisers wanted to hold the Day of Mourning The protest was a statement to the Aboriginal peoples' strong protest in Sydney's Town Hall, but Government and the people of association with the site and the were denied this request. Instead Australia on this day of events that took place there reflect they were granted permission to celebration of European the outstanding role it has played rent the Australian Hall in the settlement, but is also had a higher in Australia's Aboriginal political Cyprus Hellene Club. However purpose. The Day of Mourning and social history. The site of the this was only granted on the identified a significant collection Day of Mourning represents the condition that the delegates of policy issues impacting on Aboriginal peoples' struggle for watched the Australia Day parade Aboriginal people and proposed the recognition of their civil rights, DAY OF MOURNING 3 regarded as one of the most Depictions of the participants of and non-Aboriginal Australians important moments in the history the Day of Mourning and the alike continue to recognise and of Aboriginal resistance in the resolution at Reconciliation Place remember this historic day and its early 20th century. in Canberra's Parliamentary Zone significance in the course of is an example of how Aboriginal Australia's cultural history. I have unanswerable evidence that women of our At 1:30pm, Jack Patten race are forced to work in the return for rations, without other payment. Is this not slavery? Do white opened the proceedings Australians realise that there is actual slavery in this fair progressive Commonwealth? Yet such in this for the day with the case. We are looking in vain to white people to help us by charity. We must do something ourselves to President’s address: draw public attention to our plight. That is why this Conference is held, to discuss ways and means of arousing the conscience of White Australians, who “On this day the white people are rejoicing, but we, have us in their power but have hitherto refused to as Aborigines, have no reason to rejoice on Australia's help us. 150th birthday. Our purpose in meeting today is to bring home to the white people of Australia the Our children on the Government Stations are badly frightful conditions in which the native Aborigines of feed and poorly educated. The result is that when this continent live. This land belonged to our they go out into life they feel inferior to white people. forefathers 150 years ago, but today we are pushed This is not a matter of race it is a matter of education further and further into the background. and opportunity. That is why we ask for a better education and better opportunity for our people. The Aborigines Progressive Association has been formed to put before the white people the fact that We say that it is a disgrace to Australia's name that Aborigines throughout Australia are literally being our people should be handicapped by under starved to death. We refuse to be pushed into the nourishment and poor education and then blamed for background. We have decided to make ourselves being backward. heard. White men pretend that the Australian Aboriginal is a low type, who cannot be bettered. Our We do not trust the present Aborigines Protection reply to that is, "Give us the chance!" Board and that is why we ask for its abolition. We do not wish to be left behind in Australia's march Incompetent teachers are provided on the Aboriginal to progress. We ask for full citizen rights, including Stations. That is the greatest handicap put on us. We old-age pensions, maternity bonus, relief work when have had 150 years of the white men looking after us unemployed, and the right to a full Australian and the result is our people are being exterminated. education for our children. We do not wish to be herded like cattle and treated as a special class. As The reason why this conference is called today is so regards the Aborigines Protection Board of New that Aborigines themselves may discuss their South Wales, white people in the cities do not realise problems and try to bring before the notice of the the terrible conditions of slavery under which our public and of parliament what our grievance is, and people live in the outback districts. how it may be remedied. We ask for ordinary citizen rights and full equality with other Australians.” 150-2 ELIZABETH ST, SYDNEY 1 Meeting with the Prime Minister Less than a week after the Day of Mourning URGENT INTERIM POLICY conference, Jack Patten led a deputation of twenty Aboriginal men and women to meet with Prime Before placing before you a long-range policy for Minister Joseph Lyons, the Prime Minister’s wife Aborigines, and while the long-range policy is under Dame Enid, and the Minister for the Interior, Jack consideration, we ask as a matter of urgency: McEwan. Speaking at length about the delegation’s That the Commonwealth Government should make a goals and the importance of the occasion, Jack then special financial grant to each of the State issued the Prime Minister a copy of the APA’s 10- Governments, in proportion to the number of point Plan for Citizens Rights. Aborigines in each State, to supplement existing grants for Aborigines. We ask that such aid should be TO THE RIGHT HON. THE PRIME MINISTER OF applied to increasing the rations and improving the AUSTRALIA MR. J.A. LYONS, P.C., C.H., M.H.R. housing conditions of Aborigines at present under State control. We beg that this matter be treated Sir, urgently, as our people are being starved to death. In respectfully placing before you the following POLICY FOR ABORIGINES. We wish to state that this The following ten points embraces a LONG RANGE policy has been endorsed by a Conference of POLICY FOR ABORIGINES, endorsed by our Aborigines, held in Sydney on 26th January of this Association.
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