Day Of Mourning Protest Essay

OVERVIEW ON THE DAY OF MOURNING PROTEST

The Day of Mourning Protest, held in Sydney’s Australian Hall on the 26th of January, 1938, was an event organised by the Aborigines Progressive Organisation (APO) in a call for Aboriginal civil rights. It was held on the symbolic sesquicentenary of the British landing at Sydney Cove, as the day represented 150 years of Aboriginal suffering under the Whitemen. All “Aborigines and Persons of Aboriginal Blood” were invited to attend (APO, 1938 in BGGS, 2017, pg. 23).

The protest began with a “silent protest from the Town Hall to the Australian Hall” (AIATSIS, n.d.), attended by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. However, this march was delayed significantly due to the Australia day celebrations

In contrast, David Unaipon, an Aboriginal inventor and author, stated that the Day of Mourning Protest was a “huge mistake”, and that instead Aborigines must wait patiently for their rights.

Both men agreed that Aboriginal rights were an important issue that needed to be addressed. This shared opinion was due to their shared experiences as Aborigines and the timing of both opinions, when Aboriginal people were marginalised and forgotten in society.

However, the two men had very different understandings on how positive change would be brought about for Aborigines. This can be explained by the men’s ideals and values. David Unaipon was known for his preference for gradual change. He was also seen by some Aboriginal activists as trying too hard to act like a white man and integrate with white society, especially by activists such as Jack Patten who believed he should be supporting their cause. However, this was Unaipon’s way of trying to create change for Aborigines by being respectful and showing that the whites were not superior to Aborigines. Patten’s protest was peaceful, however he believed that the white people needed to be spoken out against rather than integrated