Rights and freedoms Defining Moments, 1945–present
Year 10
‘Land rights now’
1976: Australian Government passes the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act
‘Land rights now’
1976: Australian Government passes the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act
1900
2000
National Museum of Australia
In a snapshot
In December 1976 the Australian Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. It was the first legislation in Australia that enabled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to claim land title (ownership), if they could prove their traditional connection to the land.
Can you find out?
1. What did Aboriginal people begin to do more often from the 1960s to draw attention to land rights?
2. Give one example of a major land rights protest before 1972. Why was the example you chose important in the growth of the land rights movement?
3. Which government began drawing up the first land rights legislation, and which government actually passed it?
2x
Why did Aboriginal people lose control of their land?
In 1788 British settlers and convicts colonised Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples began to lose control of their land as the white settlers spread across the continent. Aboriginal people resisted colonisation, but many communities were no longer able to live on their own country.
In the Northern Territory, the colonisers set up large pastoral stations. Many Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory were able to retain a connection to their land by working on these pastoral stations. But Aboriginal workers were usually treated badly and very often not paid for their work.
‘Every part of Australia — had a name and use and belonged to someone.’
How did land rights protests begin?
From the 1960s Aboriginal people and their supporters began to organise protests, strikes and petitions. They argued that Aboriginal people should have more control over their traditional lands. For example in 1963 the Australian Government announced that a new mine would be built in north-east Arnhem Land. They did not ask the Yolngu people who lived on the land. The Yolngu sent a bark petition to parliament asking that they have a say in whether the mine was built. Although the government denied the Yolngu’s request, this was an important moment in the struggle for Aboriginal land rights.
In 1966 the Gurindji people at Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory went on strike. They demanded higher wages as well as the return of some of their traditional lands. This dispute lasted for nine years and helped to make the Australian public aware of the issue of Aboriginal land rights. By the early 1970s the Aboriginal rights protests had grown. In 1972 the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was set up on the lawns opposite Parliament House to put pressure on the government to give Aboriginal people control of their land.
Research task
Why did the Australian Government make a law about land rights only for the Northern Territory in 1975? Has this situation changed? Hint: Follow this link to another defining moment to find out:
How was the Land Rights Act passed?
In 1972 the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam came to power. The Whitlam government set up the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission to look into how land rights could be recognised in the Northern Territory. In 1974 the Commission recommended that Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory should be able to claim land title if they could prove they were the traditional owners of the land. Before the Whitlam government could create the new land rights laws, a new conservative Australian Government came to power. But this Coalition government, led by Malcolm Fraser, also supported Aboriginal land rights.
In December 1976 the Australian Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. It was the first legislation that allowed Aboriginal people to claim land title. Today, about 50 per cent of the Northern Territory is owned by Aboriginal communities.
Read a longer version of this Defining Moment on the National Museum of Australia’s website.
Research task
Find out when other Australian states and territories passed similar land rights legislation.
Research task
Are there any native title claims in your region? You can use the National Native Title Tribunal website to find out:
What did you learn?
1. What did Aboriginal people begin to do more often from the 1960s to draw attention to land rights?
2. Give one example of a major land rights protest before 1972. Why was the example you chose important in the growth of the land rights movement?
3. Which government began drawing up the first land rights legislation, and which government actually passed it?
