Abstract dark blue pattern with curved and geometric lines and shapes, resembling stylised waves or leaves, on a matching dark blue background.

Civil Rights

Civil Rights
Leila Lord, Tasman Dotti, and ex-soldier and Aboriginal activist Herbert Groves wearing his Second World War uniform as protest on the Australian Aboriginal League float in the 1947 May Day procession (photograph courtesy Australian War Memorial – P01248.001)

mawa – grasp – to take hold

walama – return or come back

There was a growing political activism within Sydney’s Aboriginal community over the 20th century, which led to the development of facilities and institutions for urban Aboriginal people. While Redfern was a particular focus for activism around civil and land rights, and a number of organisations integral to self-determination were established here, but there are also sites all over Sydney of political significance to Aboriginal people.

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  • Boot Trade Union Hall

    Boot Trade Union Hall

    The Boot Trade Union Hall at Redfern was a popular gathering place for Aboriginal people living in Sydney following the Second World War, especially for dances on Friday evenings. It…

  • Aboriginal Medical Service

    Aboriginal Medical Service

    Author: Lily Thomas-McKnight The Aboriginal Medical Service Cooperative Ltd (AMS) was opened on 20 July 1971 at 171 Regent Street, Redfern to provide free medical support to Aboriginal people in…

  • Aboriginal Legal Service

    Aboriginal Legal Service

    Author: Lily Thomas-McKnight The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) was established in 1970 at 142 Regent Street in the heart of Redfern. The ALS was created as a response to intense…

  • St David’s Hall

    St David’s Hall

    The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) was an all-Aboriginal political organisation formed in Sydney in 1924 by Fred Maynard. He had been involved in the Coloured Progressive Association, a group…

  • Burlington Hotel

    Burlington Hotel

    Aboriginal people were not free to drink in public bars in Sydney through to the 1970s. Although not upheld by law, this informal apartheid was enforced by patrons, publicans and…

  • Aboriginal Housing Company

    Aboriginal Housing Company

    There has always been an Aboriginal presence in Redfern because it is centrally located, housing was once relatively cheap, and it was close to industry and jobs in South Sydney.…

  • NAIDOC Week in Sydney

    NAIDOC Week in Sydney

    NAIDOC Week had its foundations in Sydney just over 80 years ago. There was a growing political activism within Sydney’s Aboriginal community in the early 20th century. The formation of…

  • Australian Hall

    Australian Hall

    This was where Aboriginal rights activist Jack Patten read the resolution on citizenship rights at the Day of Mourning Conference on 26 January 1938, which only Aboriginal people were allowed…

  • Bidura

    Bidura

    Bidura was a grand residence designed and built as a family home by architect Edmund Blacket. It was purchased by the NSW Child Welfare Department in 1920 for use as…

  • Aborigines Welfare Board

    Aborigines Welfare Board

    The Chief Secretary’s Building on Macquarie Street was the meeting place for the now notorious Aborigines Welfare Board until the Board’s abolition in 1969. The organisation was formed in 1883…