Humanities and Social Sciences – History

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are the oldest living cultures in the world, pre-dating European colonisation by over 60,000 years.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures continue to grow, evolve, and enrich Australia’s cultural landscape despite colonial policies of assimilation.   

‘Histories’ is used in the plural here as, just as there is no single Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander culture or identity, rather there is a broad, rich diversity of First Nations histories, cultures and perspectives.  

For some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the time connotations of ‘history’ can be somewhat problematic. This is because, according to the Dreaming, time is an interrelated, cyclical continuum of past present and future where stories and experiences across generations interconnected.  Although Dreaming elements and events are often spoken about as being in the past, they are also actively involved in present and continuing cultural and community life. In the words of a former Warlpiri teacher at Lajamanu School, Jeannie Herbert, the Dreaming is ‘an all-embracing concept that provides rules for living, a moral code, as well as rules for interacting with the natural environment … it is holistic – [the Dreaming] provides for a total, integrated way of life … The Dreaming isn’t something that has been consigned to the past but is a lived daily reality.’1 

Recognising the relationship between the past, present and future is also essential to effectively addressing the historical acceptance dimension of reconciliation in Australia. Australians must accept Australia’s true history and critically reflect on the present state of reconciliation in Australia, to foster a stronger, shared future of truth, justice, healing and reconciliation.  

For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, sharing knowledges and histories may come in the form of oral histories and storytelling. For tens of thousands of years, oral storytelling has served as a key means of passing cultures and knowledges on through generations. Today, many of these stories are being written down or digitised to maintain them, but many also continue to be shared through spoken exchanges and through song. It is important to be conscious of cultural protocols for sharing knowledges. Some knowledge is sacred, passed on only to specific people with the authority and responsibility to serve as their custodians. Actively listening to oral histories that have been publically shared, or that you have been personally welcomed to access, is a meaningful way of learning about history from an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander perspective.  

It is also important to note that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories are relevant to and can enrich understandings of all subject/learning areas.   

It is beyond the scope of this guide to cover the true depth and detail of the longstanding and ongoing timeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, and these histories’ relationship to all other subject/learning areas. However, you can use this guide as a platform for engaging with some of the more general resources relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, and the history of reconciliation in Australia. 

Engage with your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to learn more about the particular historical events and experiences in the area where you are living and learning.

These are some of the key dates in history for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including some milestones in the history of Australia’s reconciliation journey. 

60,000+ years ago – (before contact): 

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples occupy, share knowledge and trade across Australia for at least 60,000 years. This date has been evidenced by 10,000 artefacts (including stone tools, ochres, grinding stones) that were found in Mirrarr Country, Northern Arnhem Land dated to be at least 65,000 years old. This is the earliest found example of seed grinding and paint making in the world.
   

49,000 years ago (before contact): 

• Evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use bone needles and wooden handled tools in Warratyi in the Northern Flinders Ranges. Artefacts are found in a rock shelter in 2015. This discovery also showed evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live alongside megafauna. 
   

42,000 years ago (before contact): 

• Lake Mungo Woman and Lake Mungo Man are cremated and buried in a riverbed in NSW. Their bodies are found in 1974. Lake Mungo Woman shows examples of the oldest form of cremation recorded. Both remains are among the oldest remains to be found outside of Africa. 
   

Around 30,000 years ago (before contact): 

• Evidence that Narrm (Melbourne) is inhabited by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is shown by charcoal artefacts found at Murrup Tamboore (near Keilor, Melbourne) 
   

20,000 years ago (before contact): 

• Evidence that Aboriginal people live in the Maxwell River Valley, Tasmania at the height of the ice age. This is shown by flaxed stone artefacts discovered in Tasmania 
   

600 years ago – (early contact): 

• International traders, colonisers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups make contact in parts of Australia. People from what is now Indonesia establish trade relations with people of the north (evidence has been found that some First Nations peoples move overseas with Asian fisherpeople). European sailors make contact with First Nations groups and they share technologies, however Europeans also introduce diseases.
   

1770: 

• Captain Cook enters Botany Bay on the Endeavour. The British Government does not recognise the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their connection to Land. They claim the land for the British Crown and declare Australia as terra nullius – land belonging to nobody.
   

1788: 

• The First Fleet arrives and builds a settlement at Port Jackson in what is now Sydney, New South Wales. The Aboriginal people in Port Jackson are the first people to be subjected to colonisation. 
   

1828: 

• Tiwi people resist the British establishing a settlement on Melville Island, the settlement is soon abandoned by the colonisers.
   

1840s: 

• Eumerella wars as the Gunditjmara people defend Warrnambool against British colonisers.
   

1864: 

• Gudang people in the Cape York Peninsula fight against colonisers for occupying their Country. 

• Aboriginal people in Rockingham bay engage in guerrilla warfare against the British 
   

1873:  

• Photographs from this year (found in 2023) evidence that First Nations Australians (believed to be Yolngu) have formed a community in South East Asia in the Indonesian city of Makassar – travelling there with Indonesian fisherpeople. This is the first photographic evidence indicating the long-term migration of First Nations peoples through South-East Asia. 
   

1881:  

• Yorta Yorta residents of Maloga mission petition the NSW Governor for land grants.
   

1886:  

• William Barak petitions the Victorian Government to abolish the Aboriginal Protection bill
   

1897: 

• The Protection Act is passed in QLD, allowing removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their Country. 
   

1901: 

• The Commonwealth of Australia is formed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are not counted as citizens.
   

1932: 

• William Cooper establishes the Australian Aborigines’ League to advocate for the rights and representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. During the 1930s, Mr Cooper and other leaders of the Aborigines Progressive Association gather 1,814 signatures on a petition calling on Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and King George VI to intervene ‘for the preservation of our race from extinction and to grant representation to our race in the Federal Parliament’. 
   

1938: 

• The Aborigines Progressive Association and the Australian Aborigines’ League declare 26 January a Day of Mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is the first national protest against the unjust treatment of First Nations peoples held on the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. 
   

1939: 

• Cummeragunja Walk-Off happens with 200 residents of the Cummeragunja station striking against poor working conditions and harsh treatment.
    

1946:  

• Pilbara strike is held with 800 First Nations station workers demanding better wages and working conditions 
   

1948: 

• The Commonwealth Nationality and Citizenship Act gives the category of ‘Australian citizenship’ to all Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for the first time. However, at a state government level Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples still suffer legal discrimination. 
   

1962: 

• The Commonwealth Electoral Act is amended to give the vote to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at Federal elections. 
   

1963: 

• Yolngu leaders present the Yirrkala bark petitions to the Australian Parliament, protesting against the seizure of more than 300 square kilometres of Aboriginal land in Arnhem Land for mining. 
   

1965: 

• University of Sydney students, including Charlie Perkins, launch the Freedom Rides, travelling around NSW by bus to draw attention to discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 
   

1966: 

• Gurindji workers from the Wave Hill Station stage the Wave Hill Walk Off, striking to demand their land back. This strike continued for 10 years, led by Vincent Lingiari and became a catalyst in the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. The song ‘From Big Things Little Things Grow’ is about this significant movement. 
   

1967: 

• On 27 May, more than 90 per cent of Australians vote ‘yes’ in a referendum to give the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to include them in the Census. 
   

1971: 

• Neville Thomas Bonner becomes the first Aboriginal parliamentarian following his election as senator for Queensland. 
   

1972: 

• The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is pitched outside Parliament House in Canberra, campaigning for the recognition of Aboriginal land rights.  

• The Australian Government establishes the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. 
   

1975: 

• Australian Parliament passes the Racial Discrimination Act to help ensure that Australians of all backgrounds are treated equally and receive the same opportunities.
   

1976: 

• Patricia (Pat) O’Shane becomes Australia’s first Aboriginal barrister.  

• Australian Parliament passes the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), leading to the establishment of land rights legislation in most Australian states in the 1970s and 1980s.
   

1985: 

• Uluru is handed back to Traditional Owners. 
   

1988: 

• The Barunga Statement, calling for self-management and land rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is presented to Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Bob responded by stating he supports a treaty. 
   

1991: 

• The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presents its final report about the deaths of 99 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian jails.  

• The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is established. 
   

1992: 

• The High Court recognises native title in the landmark Mabo v Queensland (No.2) (1992), busting the myth of terra nullius.  

• Prime Minister Paul Keating delivers the ‘Redfern Speech’, recognising the history of dispossession, violence and forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.  

• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner position is created, with Professor Mick Dodson AM appointed to the position. 
   

1993: 

• The United Nations declares 1993 the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People.  

• Australian Parliament passes the Native Title Act which provides legal framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to get land rights. 

• The first National Week of Prayer for Reconciliation is supported by Australia’s major faith communities.
   

1995: 

• The Australian Government officially recognises the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. 
   

1996: 

• Following on from the National Week of Prayer for Reconciliation, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launches Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. 
   

1997: 

• The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families releases the Bringing them Home report.  

• The Australian Reconciliation Conference is held in Melbourne. 
   

1998: 

• National Sorry Day is commemorated for the first time on 26 May. 
   

2000: 

• The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation delivers its final report to Prime Minister John Howard and the Australian Parliament at Corroboree 2000. 

• Reconciliation Australia is set up as an independent, not-for-profit organisation.  

• Approximately 300,000 people walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week, showing support for the reconciliation process. 

• Freedom Rides 
   

2004: 

• The Commonwealth Government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place in Canberra. 
   

2005: 

• The National Reconciliation Planning Workshop is held, attended by Prime Minister John Howard and Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley.
   

2006: 

• The Close the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality is developed following the release of the Social Justice Report 2005.  

• Reconciliation Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan program begins. 
   

2007: 

• Australia celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1967 referendum.  

• The Australian Government, led by Prime Minister John Howard, begins the Northern Territory Emergency Response.
   

2008: 

• Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologises to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian Parliament.  

• The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commits $4.6 billion towards Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage for projects in health, housing, early childhood development, economic participation and remote service delivery. 
   

2009: 

• Australia supports the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Previously, Australia had been one of only four nations to oppose the Declaration. 
   

2010: 

• The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples is established. 

• Ken Wyatt becomes the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives. During his maiden speech he wore a Booka, a kangaroo skin coat presented to him by Noongar Elders.
    

2011: 

• The Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples leads wide-ranging public consultations and delivers its findings in January 2012. 
   

2012: 

• The campaign to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution begins (initial campaign is called ‘Recognise’) 
   

2013: 

• The Australian Parliament passes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 to maintain momentum towards a referendum to remove the ability to discriminate based on race and to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of Australia. 

• Nova Peris becomes the first female First Nations parliamentarian. 
   

2015: 

• The Referendum Council is established to advise the Prime Minister about the options for constitutional recognition. 

• There is a national campaign to ‘Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia’ in response to WA Premier Colin Barnett’s position, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s support for this position, to defund up to 150 remote Aboriginal communities. Protests are held in Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Europe supporting the movement. 
   

2016: 

• Reconciliation Australia releases The State of Reconciliation in Australia report. 

• Aboriginal Treaty Working Group is established in Victoria to consult with community, advise the government on an Aboriginal Representative Body and treaty-making processes.  
   

2017: 

• Australia celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision.  

• The Uluru Statement from the Heart is made at the First Nations National Constitutional Convention in Uluru. This statement is developed by First Nations peoples from across Australia with diverse insights and expertise. It calls for a First Nations Voice to Parliament and the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to support treaty making and truth-telling. 
   

2018: 

•  Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018 is passed and becomes Australia’s first ever Treaty law. The act is based off advice from the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group in Victoria and sets a roadmap towards treaty negotiations.  
   

2019:  

• Ken Wyatt becomes the first First Nations person to be appointed as Minister for Indigenous Australians 

• First Peoples Assembly of Victoria holds first elections. It holds 31 members to reflect the diversity of the Aboriginal nation and language groups across Victoria. The Victorian Government announces the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria as the Aboriginal Representative Body to the government. 

• Treaty Commission is established with Professional Mick Dodson announced as the Treaty Commissioner 
   

2020:  

• Black Lives Matter, protesting racism and police brutality, becomes a key movement in Australia in response to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The movement in the United States took over international headlines in 2020 following the police murder of George Floyd. In Australia the movement highlights deaths in custody and police brutality.  

• The commonwealth buys the Aboriginal flag following a Free the Flag campaign to ‘free’ the flag from private licensing. This means that the flag can be used and replicated without fear of legal action or copyright violations. 
   

2021:  

• Interim report on the Indigenous Voice Proposal is released inviting feedback on the design of the voice.  

• Sydney Peace Prize is awarded to the Uluru Statement.  

• Treaty Authority, Treaty Negotiation Framework and Self-Determination fund are established as key pillars in the Victorian Treaty-making process. 
   

2022: 

• Final report for the Treaty Commission in the NT is delivered by the NT Minister for Treaty and Local Decision Making, the Honourable Selena Uibo MLA Treaty. The Final Report details the vision for a Territory Treaty-making process including an overarching Territory-wide treaty followed by individual treaties with First Nations groups.   

• The Aboriginal Tent Embassy celebrates its 50-year anniversary. 
   

2023:  

• Referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The question put to the Australian public is: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. 
  Do you approve this proposed alteration?” 

• First summit for First Nations women - Wiyi Yani U Thangani in May