50 years Aboriginal Embassy has been standing
Danny Eastwood
In 2022 the Aboriginal Tent Embassy celebrated its 50th anniversary. On 26 January 1972 four men from Redfern in Sydney – Michael Anderson, Billy Cragie, Bert Williams and Tony Coorey – sat down under a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite what is now Old Parliament House and declared the spot to be an ‘Aboriginal embassy’. They issued a list of demands to the Australian Government that focused on land rights, mining rights, and compensation. In 1995 the embassy was listed on the Register of the National Estate.
You may also be interested in...
The sizzling history of the democracy sausage
Barbecue snags and voting explained.
Audio described cartoons
Hear audio descriptions of political cartoons from Behind the Lines exhibitions.
1928: State debts
The 1928 referendum asked Australians to change the way finances were managed by the Commonwealth and states.
Referendums A to Z
What is a referendum? Why should you care? We’ve broken down everything you need to know, from A to Z.
1999: Republic referendum
In 1999 Australia voted no to replacing the Queen as our head of state with a president.
Become a tour venue
We love talking to new venues about hosting our Behind the Lines political cartoon exhibition.