“To be Part of an Aboriginal Dream of Self-Determination” Aboriginal activism in Redfern in the 1970s Johanna Perheentupa A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities and Languages Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences August 2013 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. 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(Laurie Anderson citing Walter Benjamin) Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ i Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... iii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................................... iv Introduction: why Redfern matters?............................................................................................... 1 Many meanings of self-determination and sovereignty........................................................... 5 Previous research on Aboriginal rights activism .................................................................... 10 Space and time in urban activism ............................................................................................. 16 On terminology ........................................................................................................................... 19 On source material ..................................................................................................................... 21 From the outside ......................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter outline ............................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 1 “We know we cannot live in the past, but the past lives in us” Setting the context ............. 29 The Survival of Aboriginal Sydney ........................................................................................... 30 From missions to the city .......................................................................................................... 35 Life in the city .............................................................................................................................. 45 Support networks in the city ..................................................................................................... 47 Urban Aboriginality .................................................................................................................... 56 The Sixties and the Black Power movement .......................................................................... 58 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 2 “What to do if arrested” – fighting for Aboriginal legal rights ................................................ 68 From streets to courts ................................................................................................................ 69 Black and white co-operation ................................................................................................... 76 Early operations .......................................................................................................................... 78 Separate versus equal development.......................................................................................... 83 Under the Whitlam government .............................................................................................. 85 Change in government policy ................................................................................................... 96 Breakaway legal services .......................................................................................................... 109 Responses to discrimination ................................................................................................... 111 Aboriginal land rights ............................................................................................................... 116 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 123 Chapter 3 “Listen, bud, why didn’t you go to hospital” — health as activism ...................................... 125 First steps towards better health ............................................................................................. 126 Black and white co-operation ................................................................................................. 134 Health in the hands of women ............................................................................................... 141 Avoiding dependency ............................................................................................................... 143 Frustrated with Labor .............................................................................................................. 147 Aiming for expansion ............................................................................................................... 152 Not only medical care .............................................................................................................. 154 Struggle for self-determination ............................................................................................... 157 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 165 Chapter 4 The Black Theatre — the cultural spearhead of Aboriginal activism ................................... 168 From sideshows to centre stage ............................................................................................. 169 Challenge through dance ......................................................................................................... 175 Basically Black.............................................................................................................................. 177 On a tour to Queensland ......................................................................................................... 183 From theatre to cultural centre ............................................................................................... 185 Meeting place ............................................................................................................................. 191 The Cake Man ............................................................................................................................. 193 Politics of the past .................................................................................................................... 199 Crisis in the Black Theatre ...................................................................................................... 201 Here Comes the Nigger .................................................................................................................. 205 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................