The Minns Labor Government has marked the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Ride with the announcement of funding to complete a community pavilion in Walgett and a new program to commemorate significant steps along the Freedom Ride route.
Minister for Heritage Penny Sharpe and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris are in Walgett today to announce the grant for the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service to complete the Freedom Ride Pavilion in Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett.
The Ministers also unveiled a blue plaque in the town, to formally recognise the Freedom Ride. It's one of several blue plaques to be installed in key locations along the Freedom Ride route. NSW Blue Plaques are a popular heritage program recognising the events, groups and people who contributed to the rich history of NSW.
The 1965 Freedom Ride was instrumental in raising awareness of racial injustice and building momentum for reconciliation action in Australia.
Inspired by a set of bus trips by the civil rights movement in the US, a group of 30 University of Sydney students hired a bus, hung a banner across the front and set off on a two-week journey through regional NSW.
Led by Indigenous rights activist Charles Perkins, the group rode through Wellington, Gulargambone and Walgett, before passing Moree, Boggabilla, Tenterfield, Lismore, Grafton, Bowraville and Kempsey.
Their efforts were not well-received by locals, who pelted them with fruit and stones, and even chased the bus in a convoy of cars. In one town, police officers had to escort the students to safety.
The Freedom Ride Blue Plaque Trail will capture the stories and events that took place at the key stops on the Freedom Ride journey. In Walgett, they protested a ban on Indigenous ex-servicemen entering the Returned Services League (RSL) Club. In Moree and Kempsey, they called out local laws barring Indigenous children from swimming pools. In Bowraville, they attempted to 'gatecrash' the cinema to protest the inequity in ticketing for Indigenous people.
The widely publicised Freedom Ride contributed significantly to changes in Australians' attitudes towards Aboriginal rights. Subsequently, in 1967, more than 90% of Australians voted 'Yes' in a landmark referendum that gave Indigenous Australians full rights as citizens.
The Minns Labor Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to improve the lives of and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.
For more information on the Freedom Ride blue plaque visit https://blueplaques.nsw.gov.au/blue-plaques/locations/1965-freedom-ride
The community will be consulted on the locations of future plaques.
Quote attributable to Minister for Heritage, Penny Sharpe:
"NSW has profoundly changed as a result of Charles Perkins and the students who drew attention to racial injustice in our state.
"It is fitting that the Blue Plaques program will join up from Sydney to Walgett to mark the journey and tell the stories of the Freedom Ride and the changes that happened as a result of it.
"In Walgett, the Freedom Ride will also be recognised through the addition of a Freedom Ride Pavillion in the Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett, drawing visitors to the town."
Quote attributable to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris:
"It is crucial we celebrate the courage, resilience and strength of the original Freedom Riders and of all Aboriginal people who, now and in the past, have led the way for racial equality in Australia.
"The NSW Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to close the gap and improve the lives and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.
"By listening to Aboriginal voices, supporting Aboriginal-led initiatives, and committing to real action, we can follow in the footsteps of the Freedom Riders to build a more just and equal Australia."
