The Establishment of the Aboriginal Tent

Embassy: The Evolution of Indigenous

activism through self-determination and
radical influence at the turn of the 1970s
By Connor Breheny

Figure 1: Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1972

Warning: This Illustrated Essay contains images of Indigenous

people that may now be deceased

1
‘It is February 1972, and
Canberra’s Parliament House
lawns are a busy, thriving
protest site. Only metres from
the front steps of the building a
green-striped beach umbrella
marks the spot where, on
Australia Day, several
Aboriginal activists set up
camp. Now the umbrella has
been joined by several tents…
Above them all, flapping from
the umbrella’s canopy, the sign
that binds them: ‘Aboriginal
Embassy’’i
The establishment of the Aboriginal
Tent Embassy (the Embassy) on the
lawns of old Parliament house in
January 1972 marked a distinct shift
in nation-wide appreciation of
Indigenous rights, and a recognition
by the Australian government that it
needed to address its practically
non-existent policy regarding, and
white dominance of, Indigenous
affairs. The message was clear,
Indigenous peoples felt like aliens in
their own land. However, the
establishment of the embassy was
not an uncalculated, chance
occurrence. It illustrated the
culmination of a self-determined
venture into radical protest and
identity politics by Indigenous
activists. The role of the evolution of
Indigenous radicalism at the turn of
the 1970s cannot be understated
when inspecting a timeline of
national consciousness and
appreciation of Indigenous rights.
Although the establishment of the
Embassy provides a well-deserved
centre-piece to the study of the
development of Indigenous activism
in the 1960s and 70s, a deeper
analysis of the influence of world-
wide revolutionary ideals should be
explored to explain why, on the 26th
of January 1972, four Indigenous
men planted an umbrella on the
front lawns of old Parliament house,
Canberra.
Aboriginal Advancement
Leagues: A Shift in Leadership,
Policy and Direction
The Embassy, may, at first glance,
appear as a normal protest, typical of
the 70s, an era of revolutionised
liberalism. However, if we follow
the leadership and policy paths of
prominent Indigenous rights groups
from South-Eastern Australia,
during and directly before the
Embassy’s establishment, the protest
is given cultural and political
context.
2

Figure 2: Cover of ‘Smoke Signals’, 1965,
the organ of the VAAL
Although the 60s and 70s were a
critical time period for Aboriginal
political organisations, it is not when
they originated. The first all-
Indigenous political organisation
was the Australian Aborigines
League (AAL), founded by Sir
Doug Nicholls, William Cooper,
Bill Onus and Eric Onus in
Melbourne in 1936ii. The
establishment of organisations such
as the AAL were not uncommon in
the first half of the 20th Century,
however, it was not until 1958,
following the establishment of the
Victorian Aborigines Advancement
League (VAAL) and similar groups
in capital cities, that the first
national Indigenous rights
organisation, the Federal Council for
the Advancement of Aborigines and
Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI),
was established by Indigenous and
non-Indigenous activistsiii. Although
these Leagues and Councils had
Indigenous members amongst them,
as political groups they were often
characterised by a prevalence of
liberal, non-Indigenous members,
who preferred a conservative
approach to the furtherance of
Indigenous rightsiv. Indeed, only 3 of
the 30 founding members of
FCAATSI were Indigenousv. The
furtherance of Indigenous rights was
undoubtedly the central goal of
groups such as the VAAL and
FCAATSI, however, it was the
method by which they sought to
achieve this that left Indigenous
members of the organisations
searching for more relatable
alternatives. Assimilation, implying
the integration of Indigenous
Australian into white culture by
shedding their own cultural
histories, was the main avenue by
which non-Indigenous members of
organisations such as FCAATSI
sought to champion Indigenous
rights. This, for many Indigenous
activists, was taking one step
forwards and two steps back. Take
Herbert Groves for example:
3
“What does assimilation
imply? Certainly, citizenship
and equal status – so far so
good; but also, the
disappearance of the
Aboriginals as a separate
cultural group, and ultimately
their physical absorption by the
European part of the
population”vi.
Assimilation policies from
FCAATSI produced cosmetic
change in the form of the 1967
referendum. The referendum
produced an overwhelming ‘yes’
vote for the inclusion of Indigenous
peoples in then national census and
allowed the government to make
laws specific to Indigenous people
(catalysing a creation of an
Indigenous affairs policy). However,
this did little to actually identify and
solve problems of systemic racism
and inequality faced by Indigenous
peoples on a day-to-day basis.
Assimilation agendas focussed on
the rights of citizens in general,
rather than specific Indigenous
rightsvii. Kath Walker, a key
Indigenous figure in the
establishment of FCAATSI,
summarised the Councils success (or
lack thereof) from establishment-
1969, as such:
“Looking back, the only major
improvement has been the 93%
'Yes' vote of the referendum of
May 1967; but this
improvement did not benefit
the black Australians though it
eased the guilty conscience of
white Australians in this
country and overseas. It can be
regarded therefore as a victory
for white Australians who
formed a coalition with black
Australians. Black Australians
must be seen as stooges for
white Australians, working in
the interest of white
Australians.”viii.
The time for significant change in
leadership and policy had come. Led
by the popularisation of identity
politics and terms and ideologies
such as ‘aboriginality’ and ‘black
power’ in the late 60s and 70six, self-
determination of the process by
which Indigenous rights were to be
championed by Indigenous people
was finally realised. In 1969,
delegates from the newly formed all-
Indigenous Victorian Tribunal
Council asked the non-Indigenous
members of the executive of
FCAATSI to step down, eventually
4
leading to their resignationx.
Similarly, in the same year, all
non-indigenous members were
displaced from committee and
paid roles in the VAALxi. A new
wave of young, radical Indigenous
leaders had washed over
Indigenous rights groups. Activists
such as Gary Foley, Bob Maza,
Harry Penrith, Gary Williams,
Isobel Coe, Bruce McGuiness and
others (many of which would later
become synonymous with the
Embassy in the years to follow)
began to grab hold of
revolutionary influence from around Figure 3: Australian Black Panthers
including 21-year-old ‘field marshal’ Gary
the world, and, although already
Foley vis Dr. Runoko Rashidi, 1970
prominent in the Indigenous
community of the East and South
East of Australia, coined ways to
promote Indigenous rights to white ‘Racial minorities in multi-
Australia. Self-governance and racial nations are claiming the
Indigenous solutions to distinctly right to determine the course
Indigenous issues were the flavour of their own affairs in
of the day. This revolutionary contradiction to the inferior
change coincided with influence state in which they had
from international civil rights
lived…the Aboriginal
movements and, as will be explored,
paved the way to the establishment Advancement League supports
of the Embassy. the principle of black power,
without necessarily condoning
all the ways by which it
Black Power in Australia? expresses itself in various parts
Unspoken Influence on Australian
of the world, or indeed, in
Indigenous Identity Politics.
Australia’ – Statement made by
Bruce McGuiness (First Indigenous

5
director of the VAAL) on behalf of
the VAAL, 1969xii
‘Black Power’ and its influence on
an Australian civil rights movement
is not a concept taught or accepted
in Australian schools. Indeed, the
idea that ‘Black Power’ and the
influences of the Black Panther
Party had any effect on Australia’s
civil rights history is a foreign
concept to many. However, the
events, ideas and personalities of the
‘Black Power’ era continue to
resonate in the Indigenous
political/cultural movements of
todayxiii. Perhaps unknowingly, and
indeed without any direct intention,
the United States Black Panther
party, Malcolm X and organisation
Figure 4: ‘Aboriginals and Black Power
article, The Australian, 24th April 1968
Such as the African National
Congressxiv influenced young
Indigenous activists to adopt more
confrontational methods and to
advocate self-determination,
liberation, organisational separatism,
and cultural pride, which pressed the
Indigenous rights debate through
urgency and fearxv. Young
Indigenous activists were not
campaigning for anything radically
different to the older Indigenous and
non-Indigenous activists of the
Aboriginal Advancement League
era. Focus still remained on fighting
for equal rights for Indigenous
peoples and fighting injustices of
systemic racism, however, it was the
‘form and style of their approach
6
Figure 5: Australian Black Panther Speech
Poster, Museum of Australian Democracy,
c. 1972

that marked a radical departure from

that of an earlier generation of
campaigners’xvi. A distinct shift of
emphasis to preserving and
championing Indigenous culture and
identity as well as ‘Aboriginality’
was evident. With this shift in focus
and employment of new radical
forms of protest came distinct media
attention. The VAAL famously
invited Black Panther Leader Dr
Roosevelt Brown to speak at the
league in March 1969xvii, and
although the conference ignited a
fiery debate between Brown and
Indigenous elder Sir Doug Nicholls,
Figure 6: ‘Pastor Nicholls hits back at
the ripple effect on newspapers
black power’, The Age, 29 August 1969
Australia wide was undeniable,
spawning a hysterical national Panther’ movement on Indigenous
media outburst on the dangers of activism at the turn of the 70s. Shift
‘Black Power’ (as shown in in approach to protest and ideologies
pictures). Although the Indigenous achieved, amongst other things, the
‘Black Power’ movement was establishment of Police harassment
gaining negative attention from the monitoring (a tactic employed by the
media, it achieved what no other Black Panther Party in the United
form of Indigenous rights advocacy States) in Redfern, Sydneyxix; the
had previously been able to; establishment of Aboriginal Legal
projecting Indigenous civil rights to Services in all Australian statesxx,
the forefront of the minds of what and national media attention
was an uncomfortably quiet, white following the disruption of the 1971
Australia. Entire theses could, and Springbok tour of Australiaxxi. These
have beenxviii, written on the events can all be attributed to the
influence of the Australian ‘Black ‘Black Power’ movement. However,

7
our focus must now shift to the
Embassy. It is no coincidence that
these markedly significant events in
Australian Indigenous political
history led to the most significant
protest in Australia’s national
history as well.
The Embassy: Planting a flag in
Australia’s conscience
The adoption of techniques of
radical protest to further
aboriginality and Indigenous identity
politics at the turn of the 70s, led to
media coverage, which in turn led to
the Australian public’s attention
being caught. This placed a distinct
amount of pressure on the Australian
government to look at overhauling
Figure 7: The Early days of the Embassy.
The message was clear. February 1972
its Indigenous civil and land rights
policies. In what was described by
the national media at the time as a
“long awaited statement on the
rights of Aborigines”xxii, Prime
Minister William McMahon, of the
Liberal government, released a 12-
page statement, in response to
growing campaigns of Indigenous
land rights demonstrationsxxiii.
McMahon confirmed that the
government would be making no
changes to its Indigenous affairs
policyxxiv. The statement, in an eerily
similar fashion to outdated policies
of Aboriginal advancement leagues
of the past, focussed on ideals of
assimilation. It effectively ‘sought to
quash the separateness of Aboriginal
people and make them part of
mainstream Australian society’xxv.
Indigenous land rights activists,
looking to reclaim land taken from
them two centuries previous, were
told they could apply for general
purpose leases on land that was once
theirsxxvi. The reaction to this
stonewalling of Indigenous affairs
was the establishment of the
Embassy. The Embassy inspired
younger Indigenous and non-
Indigenous activists alike to plant
their flags and refuse to accept the
mistreatment of Indigenous peoples
by the Australian government. The
Embassy was ‘viewed as a chance to
express an alternative to the policies
of the Australia Day statement
8
through the demand for land
rights’xxvii. The front and centre
nature of the protest, the clear
message that Indigenous people felt
they needed an independent
representative body for their rights,
the geographical location of the

Figure 9: Police and Protestors, July 1972

an aim of the protestxxviii. Although

Figure 8: Humble Beginnings of the
Embassy, January 26, 1972
demonstration itself, the
embarrassment that a protest on
Parliament lawn could not be
removed; these factors all meant that
the Australian government could no
longer ignore these issues. Now that
the protest had been established,
members of the Embassy looked to
underline their messages and
strengthen their voice. A flag was
created to underline the sense of
alienation the Embassy represented,
as well as emphasising an assertion
of Indigenous sovereignty as
initially unable to remove the
embassy from Parliament house
lawn due to a loop hole in ACT law
and camping regulations, the
government initiated a forced
removal of the Embassy on July 20,
1972xxix. The violent removal of
activists was carried out by over 100
ACT police officers and aired on
national television that night,
sparking outrage in both Indigenous
and non-Indigenous communities
Australia wide. The Age reported
that the government had set a
dangerous precedent, establishing
violence as a ‘new symbol of black-
white relationships’xxx. Significantly,
this violent government reaction was
repeated three days late when
protesters re-established the
Embassy on Parliament house lawn.
Described as ‘the most violent
confrontation in the history of
Canberra’xxxi hundreds of ACT
police again ascended on the
protestors. Isobel Coe described the

9
atmosphere as such: “Aboriginal
people were outnumbered
by the police. We had to
stand on the outside of the
circle and the tent was in the
middle and we had to watch
the police march up line by
line file by file and we
thought we were all going to
die here. We were prepared
to die at the Aboriginal Tent
Embassy in Canberra that
day.”xxxii.
Figure 10: Young protestor Flo Burns is
arrested, July 1972
The public backlash to this
response was enormous. There
was large scale public outcry over
the events of the 20th and 23rd of
July and shock that an innocent
and peaceful group of protestors
could be met with such large-scale
violence came from both
Indigenous and non-indigenous
member of the publicxxxiii. The
protest had the desired effect of
shining a national spotlight on the
governments mistreatment of
Indigenous civil and land rights.
The fact that the Embassy still
stands to this day is a credit to its
unshakeable place in Australia’s
history as its loudest and most
successful political protest.
Effect and Conclusions
Although not affecting immediate
change in government policy, the
Embassy inspired the incumbent
Whitlam government to
implement significant progress on
Indigenous land and civil rights.
This in no small part can be
attributed to the Embassy, where
Gough Whitlam, as leader of the
opposition, came to meet with the
protest organisers and agreed to
many of the concerns conveyed by
the activists themselvesxxxiv. Non-
Indigenous historians have
previously attributed the
Australian governments shift in
approach to Indigenous Affairs as
10
catalysed by the election of the However, the direct and indirect
Whitlam governmentxxxv. influence of protests such as the
establishment of the Embassy in
the late 60s and early 70s cannot
be understated as having a huge
effect on this policy shift. To deny
the influence of the development
of Indigenous identity politics
through radical protest, is to deny
a key aspect of Australian history,
not just Indigenous Australian
history.

Figure 11: ‘Paul Coe grills Gough .

Whitlam at the Embassy’, 1972

i
Kathy Lothian, ‘Moving Blackwards: Black Power and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy’ in Ingereth
Macfarlane and Mark Hannah (eds.), Transgressions: Critical Australian Indigenous Histories (Acton,
A. C. T: ANU E Press, 2007), 19
ii
Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, Paper given at
the Winter School for Advocacy and Social Action, Melbourne, 16-18 Jul. 1999, 5
iii
Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History
(New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2014), 170
iv
Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, 5
v
Peter Read, ‘Cheeky, Insolent and Anti-White: The Split in the Federal Council for the Advancement
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – Easter 1970’, Australian Journal of Politics & History 36/1
(1990), 73
vi
Cited by Len Fox, Aborigines in New South Wales (Darlinghurst, New South Wales: Len Fox, 1960),
23
vii
Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History, 170
viii
Cited in Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, 6
ix
Bain Attwood, Rights for Aborigines (New South Wales, Allen & Unwin: 2003), 312

11
x
Peter Read, ‘Cheeky, Insolent and Anti-White: The Split in the Federal Council for the Advancement
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – Easter 1970’, 5
xi
Angelique Stastny and Raymond Orr, ‘The Influence of the US Black Panthers on Indigenous
Activism in Australia and New Zealand from 1969 Onwards’, Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2 (2014),
68
xii
Cited in Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary
History (New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2014), 243
xiii
Gary Foley, ‘Black Power in Red Fern, 1968-1972’, Unpublished Honours Thesis (The University of
Melbourne, 2001), 2
xiv
Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, 8
xv
Angelique Stastny and Raymond Orr, ‘The Influence of the US Black Panthers on Indigenous
Activism in Australia and New Zealand from 1969 Onwards’, 61
xvi
Bain Attwood, Rights for Aborigines, 315
xvii
Gary Foley, Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, 8
xviii
Gary Foley, ‘Black Power in Red Fern, 1968-1972’, Unpublished Honours Thesis (The University of
Melbourne, 2001)
xix
Kathy Lothian, ‘Seizing the Time: Australian Aborigines and the Influence of the Black Panther
Party, 1969-1972’, Journal of Black Studies, 35/4 (2005), 182
xx
Ibid, 182
xxi
Gary Foley, ‘Black Power in Redfern, 1968-1972’, 13
xxii
Aboriginal land rights plea is turned down’, Australian, 26 Jan. 1972
xxiii
Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori struggle for self-determination’, 10
xxiv
Aboriginal land rights plea is turned down’, Australian, 26 Jan. 1972
xxv
Paul Hasluck, Shades of Darkness: Aboriginal Affairs, 1925-1965 (Carlton: Melbourne University
Press, 1988), 22
xxvi
William McMahon (Prime Minister), Australian Aborigines Commonwealth Policy and
Achievements [media release],26 Jan. 1972, Prime Minister of Australia
http://indigenousrights.net.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/384333/f61.pdf, accessed 8 Oct. 2018
xxvii
Scott Robinson, ‘Aboriginal Embassy, 1972’, M.A thesis (Australian National University, 1993), 35
xxviii
Gary Foley, ‘Black power in Redfern, 1968-1972’, 18
xxix
Ibid, 19
xxx
‘Police Clash with Aborigines’, Age, 21 Jul. 1972

12
xxxi
Gary Foley, ‘Black Power in Redfern, 1968-1972’, 21
xxxii
Irene Watson, ‘The Aboriginal Tent Embassy 28 Years after it was Established: Interview with
Isobel Coe’, [Written Recording] (Indigenous Law Bulletin, 2000)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2000/48.html , accessed 8 Oct. 2018
xxxiii
Scott Robinson, ‘Aboriginal Embassy, 1972’, 57
xxxiv
Irene Watson, ‘Interview with Isobel Coe’, accessed 8 Oct. 2018
xxxv
Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History,
267

Figure 1: Creator Unknown, Ambrose Golden Brown (left) and Alan Sharpley (right) with two
unknown at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1972 [image] {c. 1972) <
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p3.html> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Figure 2: Cover of Smoke Signals, August – September 1965 [image] (August 1965) <
http://indigenousrights.net.au/organisations/pagination/victorian_aborigines_advancement_league
> accessed 19 Oct. 2018

Figure 3: Runoko Rashidi, Australian Black Panthers [image], (2 Oct. 2016) <
http://drrunoko.com/australian-black-panthers2/> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Figure 4: Gary Foley Collection, “Aboriginals and Black Power” – Letter from Barry Pittock to The
Australian 24th April 1968 [image] (April 1968) <
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1960s/aalbp/rb1.html> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Figure 5: Creator Unknown, Australian Black Panthers Party Poster [image] (c. 1972) <
https://collection.moadoph.gov.au/objects/2014-0233/> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Figure 6: Gary Foley Collection, “Pastor Nicholls Hits at ‘Black Power’” – The Age 29th August 1969,
(August 1969) < http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1960s/aalbp/rb6.html> accessed 18
Oct. 2018

Figure 7: Ken Middleton, We Want Land Rights, Not Handouts (c. 1972) <
http://indigenousrights.net.au/land_rights/aboriginal_embassy,_1972> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Figure 8: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Tribune / SEARCH Foundation,
Establishment of Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day 26 January 1972. From left , Michael
Anderson, Billie Craigie, Bert Williams and Tony Coorey, (January 26 1972) <
http://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-tent-embassy> accessed 18 Oct.
2018

Figure 9: Ken Middleton, View from Parliament House of police and protestors at a land rights
demonstration, Canberra, 30 July 1972, National Library of Australia, obj-149418234

Figure 10: Gary Foley Collection, Valiant defiance – Flo Burns fights the law (c. July 1972) <
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p49.html> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

13
Figure 11: Gary Foley Collection, Gough Whitlam Gets Grilled by Paul Coe at the Embassy, (c. 1972) <
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p26.html> accessed 18 Oct. 2018

Bibliography
Primary Sources
Groves, Herbert Cited by Len Fox, Aborigines in New South Wales (Darlinghurst, New South
Wales: Len Fox, 1960

McGuiness, Bruce in statement on behalf of the VAAL, cited in Bain Attwood and Andrew
Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History (New South Wales:
Allen & Unwin, 2014)

Walker, Kath Cited in Gary Foley, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-
Determination’, Paper given at the Winter School for Advocacy and Social Action,
Melbourne, 16-18 Jul. 1999

Watson, Irene ‘The Aboriginal Tent Embassy 28 Years after it was Established: Interview
with Isobel Coe’, [Written Recording] (Indigenous Law Bulletin, 2000)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2000/48.html

‘Aboriginal land rights plea is turned down’, Australian, 26 Jan. 1972

‘Police Clash with Aborigines’, Age, 21 Jul. 1972

‘Police Clash with Aborigines’, Age, 21 Jul. 1972

Books
Attwood, Bain, Rights for Aborigines (New South Wales, Allen & Unwin: 2003)

Attwood, Bain and Markus, Andrew, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary
History (New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2014)

Fox, Len, Aborigines in New South Wales (Darlinghurst, New South Wales: Len Fox, 1960)

Hasluck, Paul, Shades of Darkness: Aboriginal Affairs, 1925-1965 (Carlton: Melbourne

University Press, 1988)

Lothian, Kathy, ‘Moving Blackwards: Black Power and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy’ in
Ingereth Macfarlane and Mark Hannah (eds.), Transgressions: Critical Australian Indigenous
Histories (Acton, A. C. T: ANU E Press, 2007)

14
Articles
Lothian, Kathy, ‘Seizing the Time: Australian Aborigines and the Influence of the Black
Panther Party, 1969-1972’, Journal of Black Studies, 35/4 (2005), 179-200

Read, Peter, ‘Cheeky, Insolent and Anti-White: The Split in the Federal Council for the
Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – Easter 1970’, Australian Journal of
Politics & History 36/1 (1990), 73-83

Stastny, Angelique and Orr, Raymond, ‘The Influence of the US Black Panthers on
Indigenous Activism in Australia and New Zealand from 1969 Onwards’, Australian
Aboriginal Studies, 2 (2014), 60-74

Other
Foley, Gary, ‘Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination’, Paper
given at the Winter School for Advocacy and Social Action, Melbourne, 16-18 Jul. 1999

Foley, Gary, ‘Black Power in Red Fern, 1968-1972’, Unpublished Honours Thesis (The
University of Melbourne, 2001)

McMahon, William (Prime Minister), Australian Aborigines Commonwealth Policy and

Achievements [media release],26 Jan. 1972, Prime Minister of Australia
http://indigenousrights.net.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/384333/f61.pdf

Robinson, Scott, ‘Aboriginal Embassy, 1972’, M.A thesis (Australian National University,
1993)

Watson, Irene, ‘The Aboriginal Tent Embassy 28 Years after it was Established: Interview
with Isobel Coe’, [Written Recording] (Indigenous Law Bulletin, 2000)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2000/48.html

Images
Cover of Smoke Signals, August – September 1965 [image] (August 1965)
http://indigenousrights.net.au/organisations/pagination/victorian_aborigines_advancement_le
ague

Foley, Gary, Collection, Valiant defiance – Flo Burns fights the law (c. July 1972)
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p49.html

Foley, Gary, Collection, Gough Whitlam Gets Grilled by Paul Coe at the Embassy, (c. 1972)
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p26.html

15
Foley, Gary, Collection, “Aboriginals and Black Power” – Letter from Barry Pittock to The
Australian 24th April 1968 [image] (April 1968)
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1960s/aalbp/rb1.html

Foley, Gary, Collection, “Pastor Nicholls Hits at ‘Black Power’” – The Age 29th August
1969, (August 1969) http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1960s/aalbp/rb6.html

Middleton, Ken, We Want Land Rights, Not Handouts (c. 1972)

http://indigenousrights.net.au/land_rights/aboriginal_embassy,_1972

Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Tribune / SEARCH Foundation,
Establishment of Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day 26 January 1972. From left ,
Michael Anderson, Billie Craigie, Bert Williams and Tony Coorey, (January 26 1972)
http://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-tent-embassy

Middleton, Ken, View from Parliament House of police and protestors at a land rights
demonstration, Canberra, 30 July 1972, National Library of Australia

Rashidi, Runoko, Australian Black Panthers [image], (2 Oct. 2016)

http://drrunoko.com/australian-black-panthers2/

Unknown, Creator, Ambrose Golden Brown (left) and Alan Sharpley (right) with two
unknown at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1972 [image] {c. 1972)
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/p3.html

Unknown, Unknown, Australian Black Panthers Party Poster [image] (c. 1972)
https://collection.moadoph.gov.au/objects/2014-0233/

16