Aboriginal Day of Mourning

This paper critically analyzes the Aboriginal Day of Mourning, a protest staged by the indigenous people of Australia on 26 January 1938 to protest against their subjugation and oppression. It examines the historical context, the reasons for the protest, and its impact on the relationship between the indigenous and European settlers. The protest marked a significant moment in the fight for equal rights and recognition for the aboriginal people in Australia.

Running head: ABORIGINAL DAY OF MOURNING
ABORIGINAL DAY OF MOURNING
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Author’s Note:

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As opined by Bond (2015), an integral aspect of the Australian history is the process
of colonisation through which the indigenous people of Australia were subjugated. Law and
Mackenzie (2016) are of the viewpoint that the aboriginals of the nation of Australia had to
face a substantial amount of discrimination, suppression and other kinds of evil and even
their basic human rights were taken away from them. As a matter of fact, the lands which
traditional belonged to the indigenous people were being unlawfully or illegally taken away
from them by the European settlers in the name of colonisation or civilisation in Australia
(Paisley 2017). The resultant effect of this is that different kinds of protests or revolts have
been staged by these individuals over the years although with apparently no results
(Silverstein 2018). In this regard, mention needs to be made of the “Aboriginal Day of
Mourning’ which was staged by the aboriginal people or for that matter their community on
26 January 1938 so as to protest against the oppression or the subjugation that the aboriginal
people had to face in the concerned nation. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a critical
analysis of the ‘Aboriginal Day of Mourning’ and the prominence that it holds in the canon of
Australian history.
Bainbridge and Doherty (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that an important
aspect of the nation of Australia is the fact that unlike the other nations of the world wherein
it is seen that their national day celebrates the glory of their nation, the contributions that the
founding fathers have made towards the nation and other aspects, the national day of
Australia celebrates the oncoming of the European settlers. The resultant effect of this is that
the aboriginal or the indigenous people of Australia over the years have boycotted the
national day celebrations which are organised every year in the nation under discussion here
(Aiatsis.gov.au 2019). It was seen that in the year 1938, on the very day on which the
National Day of Australia is being celebrated by the European settlers, that is, 26th January,
the aboriginal people of the concerned nation started the celebration of the ‘Aboriginal Day

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of Mourning’ which is celebrated even in the present times (Nma.gov.au 2019). In this
regard, it needs to be said that the reason for the celebration of the concerned day by the
aboriginal people was outlined by their official manifesto which stated that “This festival of
150 years' so-called 'progress' in Australia commemorates also 150 years of misery and
degradation imposed on the original native inhabitants by white invaders of this country”
(Sbs.com.au 2019).
As stated by Burrows (2016), an important aspect of the “Aboriginal Day of
Mourning” was the fact that it was organised to mark the 150 year of the European settlers’
dominance of the nation of Australia and the resultant pain or suffering that the aboriginal
people had to face on the score of the same. The celebration of the “Aboriginal Day of
Mourning” was organised through the active collaboration of the two organisations related to
the indigenous or the aboriginal people in the nation of Australia, namely, Aborigines
Progressive Association (APA) led by its founders William Ferguson and Jack Patten and
Australian Aborigines League which in turn was led by William Cooper (Bollen and
Brewster 2018). More importantly, it was seen that the celebration under discussion here was
attended by both the indigenous and the non-indigenous people of the concerned nation to
show their protest against the inhumane treatment which was meted out to the indigenous
people of Australia who as a matter of fact had inhabited the nation of Australia for more
than 60,000 years (Lawson, Woods and McKenna 2019). However, with the oncoming of the
European settlers it was seen that the indigenous or the aboriginal people of the concerned
nation were being completed relegated to the background of the nation. This in turn raised
questions regarding the concepts of sovereignty and justice in the concerned nation since by
right the nation of Australia belonged to the aboriginal people however the European settlers
through the process of extensive colonisation made the aboriginals complete outsiders in their
own nation.

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Law and Mackenzie (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the protest which was
being organised by the aboriginals of Australia in 1938 was not only celebrated to highlight
the unjust treatment which had been meted out to them in the 150 years of the European rule
in the concerned nation but at the same time was intended to appeal for equal rights for the
aboriginals on par with the ones which were being offered to the European settlers in the
nation of Australia. As a matter of fact, the Congress resolution for the protest stated that
“WE, representing THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA……HEREBY MAKE PROTEST
against the callous treatment of our people by the whitemen in the past 150 years, AND WE
APPEAL to the Australian Nation to make new laws for the education and care of
Aborigines,….FULL CITIZEN STATUS and EQUALITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY”
(Abc.net.au 2019). More importantly, it was seen that the aboriginal people of the nation
under discussion here tried to peacefully protest against the actions of European settlers in the
year 1888 however they were completely ignored by the national government of the
concerned nation in the same manner that the protest of 1938 was ignored by the national
government of Australia (Silverstein 2018). In this regard, it needs to be said that although
the Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons did agree to met the representatives of the
concerned protest however his primary objective was to meet Pastor Doug Nicholls, a famous
footballer of the Fitzroy Football Club, who was a representative of the concerned protest
(Paisley 2017). Furthermore, despite the fact that the protest under discussion here was a
highly successful which was able to garner a substantial amount of support from both the
indigenous and the non-indigenous people of the concerned and is being celebrated even in
the present times yet it was seen that the protest under discussion here failed to change the
mindset or the approach of the national government towards the indigenous people of the
concerned. Furthermore, it was seen that the indigenous people of the nation under discussion
here had to wait for another 50 years or so in order to get equal citizens and other rights on

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par with the ones that the European settlers had been used to enjoying since the year of their
arrival in the concerned nation (Bainbridge and Doherty 2015).
Lawson, Woods and McKenna (2019) are of the viewpoint that the celebration of the
“Aboriginal Day of Mourning” was an important one not only from the perspective of the
Australian history but also from the perspective of the indigenous or the aboriginal people of
the concerned nation as well. The protest under discussion here was one of the very first signs
of activism displayed by the indigenous or the aboriginal people of the concerned nation in
response to the suppression or the subjugation that had to face during the period of
colonialism in the history of Australia. This is important because of the fact that despite the
numerous forms of subjugation, discrimination, illegal taking away of their lands, deprivation
of their rights, citizenship and others which were being inflicted upon them by the European
settlers, the indigenous people had not staged any substantial or significant protest in
response to the same (Bond 2015). The resultant effect of this is that the protest under
discussion here is often considered to be one of the pivotal points in the history of the
relationship that the aboriginals and the European settlers shared with each other and
ultimately led to the gradual implementation of the kind of changes that the aboriginal or the
indigenous people wanted or expected from the national government of Australia.
To conclude, the aboriginals or the indigenous people in the nation of Australia had to
face a substantial amount of discrimination, suppression and other kinds of inhumane
treatment. Furthermore, it was seen that despite inhabiting the concerned nation for a very
long time-span the lands which belonged to them were taken away and they were also being
deprived of their basic rights from the national government which comprised of the European
settlers. The resultant effect of this is that these individuals organised the “Aboriginal Day of
Mourning” to protest against the inhumane treatment that they had been subjected to in the
concerned nation over the years. This incident is important in the historical cannon of the

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nation of Australia because of the fact that in the subsequent years it led to many changes
which were important from the perspective of the aboriginal or the indigenous people of the
concerned nation. These aspects of the “Aboriginal Day of Mourning” become apparent from
the above discussion of the same.

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