Home > assh > kunapipi > Vol. 17 (1995) > Iss. 3
Abstract
1967 - the year of change, the year of official freedom for Aborigines and the year we were finally classed as citizens in our own country. Yes, the 1967 Referendum changed the status of Aborigines forever. I didn't know all the ins and outs of the lead-up to the citizens of Australia voting for the release of Aborigines from bondage. All I know was, it was a wonderful and decent thing all those people did for us, that is, those who voted for us to join the human race. I daresay there were the diehards who would have been happy to see the Aborigines still under supervision and surveillance in some settlement, mission or other apartheid-like structure. But the majority voted in our favour and we have them to thank for it. And yes, T' d heard and read about the South African apartheid policies and their inhuman treatment of the black people over there. While I can feel sadness for them, I can also feel my own sense of loss and isolation for what I've been through all my life.
Recommended Citation
Van den Berg, Rosemary, Citizens in Our Own Country, Kunapipi, 17(3), 1995.
Available at:https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol17/iss3/5
