The 1938 Day of Mourning
Many Australians celebrate Australia Day on the 26th January, the day that Captain James Cook claimed the east coast of the country on behalf of Britain. Not many stopping to acknowledge the traditional land owners, the Australian Aboriginal people. 26th January 1938 marks the 150th anniversary of the British arrival yet for Indigenous Australians it marks the day they lost control over their land and 150 years of injustices and losses.
Day of Mourning Protest: On the 26th January 1938 William Cooper (secretary of the Australian Aboriginal League), William Ferguson (founder of the Aboriginal Progressive Association), and John Patten (president), Brought aboriginal people together in a Day of Mourning and Protest. The Protest began at Sydney Town Hall and with 1000 others and marched to the Australian Hall in Elizabeth Street. They then spoke putting forward views on key issues surrounding the raise in full citizen status and equality within the community.
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From 1788, the British destroyed the Aborigines land and showed no respect in doing so. The Aboriginal people loss free access to sources of food and water, they found themselves living in a different world ruled by white skin superiors. The Australian Government implemented policies of ‘protection’ towards the Aboriginal people, such as;
· Taking their children · Deciding where they could live and work · Limiting their access to education · Denying them right to which other Australians were entitled · Forbidding them the right to practise their own traditions Unfortunately The Day of Mourning did not achieve its main goals but still managed to unite Aboriginal people demanding their civil rights, and make Australians think about the appropriate date for a national celebration.
“The 26th of January 1938, is not a day of rejoicing for Australia’s Aborigines; it is a day of mourning. This festival of 150 years’so-called ‘progress’… commemorates also 150 years of misery and degradation imposed upon the original native inhabitants by the white invaders…” - J T Pattern |