What was the outcome of the Cummeragunja walk off?

What was the outcome of the Cummeragunja walk off?

Protest. On 4 February 1939, when Jack Patten was arrested and removed from the mission after trying to address the local people, as many as 200 residents of the Cummeragunja Mission walked out of the mission and crossed the Murray River, leaving the state of New South Wales.

Who lead the Cummeragunja walk off?

The men of Riverina’s Cummeragunja Reserve instigated Australia’s first Indigenous mass protest in 1939. 80 years on, descendant Shane Charles says the community’s women “led the charge”.

Why is Cummeragunja station significant?

It is known for being the site of a protest known as the Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939, with residents leaving the reserve to cross the river in protest at poor conditions and treatment.

Where is Cummeragunja NSW?

Cummeragunja Mission Station (also Cumeroogunga) is an Aboriginal reserve situated in Yorta Yorta country on a bend in the Murray River in New South Wales, near the Victorian town of Barmah.

What was the outcome of the Pilbara strike?

After the strike concluded many Aboriginal people refused to go back to working in their old roles in the pastoral industry. Eventually they pooled their funds from surface mining and other cottage industry to buy or lease stations, including some they had formerly worked on, to run them as cooperatives.

Where is the Yorta Yorta country?

The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales.

When did the Pilbara strike end?

1949
The Pilbara Strike is the longest strike in Australian history lasting 3 years, ending in 1949 after many of the strikers gained better rights – some returned to the stations but many went off and earned their own money.

How many years were Aboriginal been in Australia?

65,000 years
Aboriginal people are known to have occupied mainland Australia for at least 65,000 years. It is widely accepted that this predates the human settlement of Europe and the Americas.

What is a Yorta Yorta woman?

What happened to the real Sapphires?

The three original members – Laurel, Beverly and Naomi – now work at the Aboriginal Medical Service, in Sydney’s suburb of Redfern, where Naomi is chief executive.

Was the Pilbara strike successful?

Measured against the workers’ initial demands, the 3-year Pilbara strike was not a complete victory. But the strike was of great historical significance, providing a powerful example of Aboriginal people’s resolve to struggle against their slave-like conditions.