What is the Aboriginal Tent Embassy?

There were a series of key events that led up to the creation of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.

Each of these events served to highlight the marginalization and mistreatment of the Indigenous Australian people.

The first of these was the Yirrkala petition, which was presented to the Australian Parliament in 1963.

The petition focused on land rights and the impact of mining on the Yolngu people's traditional lands.

Then, in 1965, Indigenous Australian rights activist Charles Perkins led a group of students on a bus tour of communities in New South Wales.

The Freedom Ride aimed to raise awareness of the poor living conditions faced by Indigenous Australian people and campaign for change.

Then, in 1966, the Wave Hill walk-off occurred. This was a protest against the working conditions and pay of First Nations stockmen on a cattle station in the Northern Territory.

The walk-off would become one of the longest strikes in Australian history, lasting for eight years.

Perhaps the most important even was the 1967 referendum, which saw over 90% of Australians vote in favor of removing two discriminatory references to Indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution.

This then enabling the federal government to make laws regarding Indigenous Australians.

However, these changes did not bring about any significant improvement in living conditions for First Nations people.

On April 27, 1971, Justice Blackburn delivered the judgment in the Yirrkala land rights case (Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd), which found that Indigenous Australian people did not have ownership over their traditional lands.

This ruling was a major blow to the civil rights movement and would become a key trigger in the formation of the Tent Embassy.

All of these events culminated in the creation of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day 1972.

After years of frustration and inaction from the government, four men decided to take matters into their own hands and set up camp on Parliament House (now known as Old Parliament House) lawn.

The four men who set up the embassy - Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bertie Williams, and Tony Coorey - were protesting the 1971 legal decision and demanding that the government recognize Indigenous Australian ownership of the land.

The embassy was originally just a small structure made out of an umbrella, and later, poles and tarpaulin, but it quickly grew into a large and well-organized camp.

Nevertheless, it became a focal point for the Indigenous Australian rights movement, and quickly attracted national and international attention.

On July 20, 1972, 150 police officers marched on the Embassy. A group of supporters formed a human chain around the tents and sang "We Shall Not Be Moved."

Television cameras recorded everything that happened and broadcast it on the evening news.

The footage showed that a scuffle broke out, several arrests were made, and ultimately, the tents were pulled down.

On the following Sunday, when supporters numbered around 200, the tents were put up for a second time.

This was followed by a confrontation between the police force of 360 people and the protestors, which resulted in more violence. The embassy was destroyed for a second time.

Then, on Monday, July 31, around 2,000 protestors gathered outside the Parliament House, and the government finally stopped using the police force to pull the structures down.

Realising that direct force was not working, the Australian government allowed it to remain.

As a result, the embassy quickly grew in size and prominence, attracting international attention.

So, in 1972, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visited the embassy and acknowledged its significance.

However, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy would relocate several times between 1972 and 1992.

Despite being torn down, damaged, and attacked on a number of other occasions.

Since 1992, the Tent Embassy has remained on the lawn outside of the Old Parliament House.

Also, in the 2000s, the embassy became a site of political protest against the federal government's policies on Indigenous affairs.

In 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited the embassy but faced a controversial security incident during her visit, which resulted in her being escorted away by her security team.

Nevertheless, she delivered a speech in support of Indigenous Australian rights.

The Tent Embassy still continues to be a symbolic focal point for protests whenever controversial events affect First Nations people.