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Day of Mourning (Australia)
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Day of Mourning (Australia)
The Day of Mourning was a protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet and the British colonisation of Australia. It was held to draw attention to the poor treatment of Aboriginal people and entrenched racial discrimination. The protest purposefully coincided with Australia Day celebrations, with protests with similar aims continuing to be held on 26 January under the names Invasion Day or Survival Day.
The Day of Mourning was organised by the Sydney-based Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), led by Jack Patten and William Ferguson, and was supported by William Cooper's Melbourne-based Australian Aborigines' League (AAL). Patten and Ferguson had published a series of policy demands earlier in the month. The protest on 26 January included a march through the streets of Sydney, beginning at Sydney Town Hall and ending at the Australian Hall. The attendees subsequently held a conference on Indigenous rights and unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "callous treatment of our people by the white man" and calling for "new laws for the education and care of Aborigines" and "a new policy which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community".
Following the Day of Mourning, leading participants met with Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and Interior Minister John McEwen and pressed for further action in line with Patten and Ferguson's policy agenda. Their lobbying played a key role in the development of the New Deal for Aborigines, announced by McEwen later in 1938, which set out a pathway to full citizenship rights for Indigenous people contingent on cultural assimilation. The New Deal was welcomed by the APA but its implementation stalled and its recommendations took decades to achieve. The Day of Mourning also contributed to a surge in Indigenous activism, including the publication of the short-lived Australian Abo Call as the first national newspaper for Aboriginal Australians. The APA ultimately split into rival factions later in 1938 but the Day of Mourning participants continued to play a significant role in rights activism.
The Day of Mourning protest was organised by the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), based in New South Wales and led by its founders Jack Patten and William Ferguson. The protest leaders also had support from the Australian Aborigines' League (AAL), based in Victoria and led by William Cooper. In 1888, the centenary of the arrival of the First Fleet, Aboriginal leaders had simply boycotted the Australia Day celebrations. However, this had been ignored by the media.
These groups had also sent petitions to the Australian and the British governments, in the early 1930s, for the recognition of Aboriginal civil rights (including Aboriginal representation in the Parliament of Australia), but they had been ignored or dismissed without serious attention, and each had refused to pass the petitions on to King George V.
As a result, a more proactive event was planned for the sesquicentenary, which the media and governments could not ignore. This was despite the recent experience of the New South Wales Police engaging in general intimidation of public meetings of such political organisations.
In early January 1938, a statement titled "Citizen Rights for Aborigines" was published by Patten and Ferguson in William Miles' nationalist magazine The Publicist. It was likely edited by writer P. R. Stephensen, who was honorary secretary of the Aboriginal Citizenship Committee, an organisation for non-Aboriginal supporters of the APA. Advertising and print materials for the conference were printed by The Publicist's printer, Stafford Printery, with their manifesto circulated to newspapers. Stephensen also interviewed Patten and Ferguson on his weekly radio programme. In the lead-up to the conference the APA also secured the support of prominent author Mary Gilmore.
The day began with a march through the streets of Sydney, which was attended by both Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous supporters. The march began at the Sydney Town Hall and concluded at the major event on the day, the Day of Mourning Congress, a political meeting for Aboriginal people only. It attracted many major Aboriginal leaders, including Pearl Gibbs and Margaret Tucker.
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Day of Mourning (Australia)
The Day of Mourning was a protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet and the British colonisation of Australia. It was held to draw attention to the poor treatment of Aboriginal people and entrenched racial discrimination. The protest purposefully coincided with Australia Day celebrations, with protests with similar aims continuing to be held on 26 January under the names Invasion Day or Survival Day.
The Day of Mourning was organised by the Sydney-based Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), led by Jack Patten and William Ferguson, and was supported by William Cooper's Melbourne-based Australian Aborigines' League (AAL). Patten and Ferguson had published a series of policy demands earlier in the month. The protest on 26 January included a march through the streets of Sydney, beginning at Sydney Town Hall and ending at the Australian Hall. The attendees subsequently held a conference on Indigenous rights and unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "callous treatment of our people by the white man" and calling for "new laws for the education and care of Aborigines" and "a new policy which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community".
Following the Day of Mourning, leading participants met with Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and Interior Minister John McEwen and pressed for further action in line with Patten and Ferguson's policy agenda. Their lobbying played a key role in the development of the New Deal for Aborigines, announced by McEwen later in 1938, which set out a pathway to full citizenship rights for Indigenous people contingent on cultural assimilation. The New Deal was welcomed by the APA but its implementation stalled and its recommendations took decades to achieve. The Day of Mourning also contributed to a surge in Indigenous activism, including the publication of the short-lived Australian Abo Call as the first national newspaper for Aboriginal Australians. The APA ultimately split into rival factions later in 1938 but the Day of Mourning participants continued to play a significant role in rights activism.
The Day of Mourning protest was organised by the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), based in New South Wales and led by its founders Jack Patten and William Ferguson. The protest leaders also had support from the Australian Aborigines' League (AAL), based in Victoria and led by William Cooper. In 1888, the centenary of the arrival of the First Fleet, Aboriginal leaders had simply boycotted the Australia Day celebrations. However, this had been ignored by the media.
These groups had also sent petitions to the Australian and the British governments, in the early 1930s, for the recognition of Aboriginal civil rights (including Aboriginal representation in the Parliament of Australia), but they had been ignored or dismissed without serious attention, and each had refused to pass the petitions on to King George V.
As a result, a more proactive event was planned for the sesquicentenary, which the media and governments could not ignore. This was despite the recent experience of the New South Wales Police engaging in general intimidation of public meetings of such political organisations.
In early January 1938, a statement titled "Citizen Rights for Aborigines" was published by Patten and Ferguson in William Miles' nationalist magazine The Publicist. It was likely edited by writer P. R. Stephensen, who was honorary secretary of the Aboriginal Citizenship Committee, an organisation for non-Aboriginal supporters of the APA. Advertising and print materials for the conference were printed by The Publicist's printer, Stafford Printery, with their manifesto circulated to newspapers. Stephensen also interviewed Patten and Ferguson on his weekly radio programme. In the lead-up to the conference the APA also secured the support of prominent author Mary Gilmore.
The day began with a march through the streets of Sydney, which was attended by both Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous supporters. The march began at the Sydney Town Hall and concluded at the major event on the day, the Day of Mourning Congress, a political meeting for Aboriginal people only. It attracted many major Aboriginal leaders, including Pearl Gibbs and Margaret Tucker.
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