1993: Death of Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), Aboriginal poet, activist and artist
2022-09-16 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) was born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, on Minjerribah (the Stradbroke Island). She was a poet, political activist, artist and educator. Oodgeroo Noonuccal means Oodgeroo of the tribe Nunuccal. Oodgeroo was a strong promoter of Aboriginal culture and a campaigner for indigenous rights.

As the Australian Women’s Register explains:

“Oodgeroo’s work has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Mary Gilmore Medal (1970), the Jessie Litchfield Award (1975), the International Acting Award and the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Award. She also held an honorary doctorate of letters (Macquarie University) and was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University from Griffith University. In 1970, Oodgeroo (under the name Kathleen Walker) was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) for services to the community. She returned it in 1987 in protest against the forthcoming Australian Bicentenary celebrations (1988). It was around this time that she reclaimed her traditional name, Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe.” The Australian Women’s Register

Action

Read Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poems about her experience of racism and dispossession. Has anything changed? Consider what you can do.

1988: Formation of Burma's National League for Democracy by Aung San Suu Kyi
2022-09-27 00:00 - 23:59
The Nobel Prize website explains that Peace Prze Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is “the daughter of the legendary liberation movement leader Aung San. Following studies abroad, she returned home in 1988. From then on, she led the opposition to the military junta that had ruled Burma since 1962. She was one of the founders of the National League for Democracy, and was elected secretary general of the party. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, she opposed all use of violence and called on the military leaders to hand over power to a civilian government. The aim was to establish a democratic society in which the country’s ethnic groups could cooperate in harmony.”

1872: Birth of David Unaipon, Aboriginal writer and activist
2022-09-28 00:00 - 23:59
What do you know about David Unaipon, the man on the fifty dollar note? He was a preacher, writer and inventor and was the first Aboriginal published author. David was born in 1872 on the Point McLeay mission in the town of Raukkan, just 80 km southeast of Adelaide. Find out more on the NITV website.

“David Unaipon first of all, forced Australians to accept Aboriginal intelligence then he forced them to consider the scientific knowledge of the world’s oldest culture. His legacy paves the way for younger Aboriginal people to unearth the Indigenous science Australia has buried beneath a ton of denial.” – Bruce Pascoe, Author Quoted in Luke Briscoe, in Remembering David Unaipon: the man on the fifty dollar note, NITV.

National Indigenous Television (NITV)

1983: Death of John Pat in Roebourne Prison WA, prompting the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
2022-09-28 00:00 - 23:59
Noel Olive explains in the Australian Dictionary of Biography:

“On 28 September 1983 several members of the Roebourne police force attended a meeting of the Western Australian Police Union of Workers at Karratha. They adjourned to the local golf club for drinks, and then proceeded to the Top Bar of the Victoria Hotel at Roebourne. A brawl broke out between the off-duty police officers and a group of Aborigines, including Pat, a 16 year old Aboriginal boy who died of head injuries alleged to have been caused in a disturbance between Aboriginal people and Police… The circumstances of Pat’s death were investigated by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, established in 1987… Pat’s death became for Aboriginal people a symbol of injustice and oppression. The Aboriginal poet, Jack Davis, wrote John Pat (1988). The John Pat Memorial Day for Deaths in Custody is observed each year with a ceremony at the old Fremantle Prison.” Noel Olive, “Pat, John Peter (1966-1983)”, in Australian Dictionary of Biography

1869: Birth of Mahatma Gandhi
2022-10-02 00:00 - 23:59
“Gandhi constantly highlighted the gap between what we do, and what we are capable of doing. On this International Day, I urge each and every one of us to do everything in our power to bridge this divide as we strive to build a better future for all.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres

1962: Opening Session of Second Vatican Council
2022-10-11 00:00 - 23:59

1997: First Sea of Hands, Canberra
2022-10-12 00:00 - 23:59
The first Sea of Hands was held on the 12 October 1997, in front of Parliament House, Canberra. Hands in the colors of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were signed by people to show their support for reconciliation and native title. At the time it was the largest public art installation in Australia.

The Sea of Hands movement has continued for over twenty years. You can book a Sea of Hands installation through ANTaR’s Hands Up! program.

2001: Sinking of refugee boat SIEV X
2022-10-19 00:00 - 23:59
On 19 October 2001, 353 people, mostly women and children, drowned on the high seas trying to reach Australia in a small, dilapidated, grossly overloaded fishing boat that would later come to be known as Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel (SIEV) X. There were 45 who survived the sinking, of whom seven eventually settled in Australia. SIEVX was the first major drowning incident involving asylum seekers travelling to Australia by boat.

Eureka Street

1985: Return of Uluru to the traditional owners, the Anangu people
2022-10-26 00:00 - 23:59
On 26 October 1985 the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen, handed over title for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to the Traditional Owners of the area – the Anangu.

The hand over and lease back ceremony was held in the Mutitjulu community near the base of Uluru. It was a night of singing and dancing for the Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal people. The celebrations marked a long struggle for Anangu to be recognised as the rightful custodians of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the surrounding land.

AIATSIS Handback

2019: Ban on climbing Uluru comes into force
2022-10-26 00:00 - 23:59
On this day the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management decision to close the climb to the top of Uluru came into force. The Board is made up of a majority of traditional owners of the park. This date was chosen as it was the date in 1985 when the park was handed back to the Anangu people.

1834: Battle of Pinjara, WA
2022-10-28 00:00 - 23:59
One hundred years after the Battle of Pinjarra, someone writing under the nome de plume ‘Cygney’ recounted the story in The West Australian newspaper. What do you make of this 1934 account of the battle?

1995: Execution of nine Nigerian environmentalists and human rights activists
2022-11-10 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1995, writer and human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed in Nigeria despite worldwide pleas for clemency. The country’s military rulers ordered the execution of Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight other dissidents.

BBC On This Day

1975: Dismissal of the Whitlam Government
2022-11-11 00:00 - 23:59
“On 11 November 1975, after a series of dramatic events including a 1974 double dissolution and a budgetary supply crisis, the Gough Whitlam-led federal Labor government became the first (and only) government in Australian history to be dismissed by the Governor-General. While this constitutional crisis has overshadowed the Whitlam years, the administration left a lasting legacy of social and political reform.” National Museum Australia

For reflection

Which social and political reforms of the Whitlam era are you most grateful for?

What social and Political reforms do you think are needed today?

How might we answer Pope Francis’ call in Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) for a ‘better kind of politics’?

1991: Dili Massacre, Timor-Leste: more than 271 people killed
2022-11-12 00:00 - 23:59
On November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops fired upon a peaceful memorial procession to a cemetery in Dili, East Timor that had turned into a pro-independence demonstration. More than 271 East Timorese were killed that day at the Santa Cruz cemetery or in hospitals soon after. An equal number were disappeared and are believed dead.

East Timor Action Network (ETAN)

1989: Murder of six Jesuit priests and two co-workers in El Salvador
2022-11-16 00:00 - 23:59
In the early hours on 16 November 1989, six Jesuit priests, a cook and her 16-year-old daughter were shot and killed at the Pastoral Centre of José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) in San Salvador. The victims were Fathers Ignacio Ellacuría, Rector of the University; Ignacio Martín-Baró, Vice-Rector; Segundo Montes, Director of the Human Rights Institute; Amando López, Joaquín López y López and Juan Ramón Moreno, all teachers at UCA; and Julia Elba Ramos and her daughter, Celina Mariceth Ramos. The priests publicly opposed U.S. support of the Salvadoran armed forces, and pleaded for peaceful dialogue between the right and the left. They polled poor citizens and kept detailed records of refugees fleeing the country.

Report of the UN Truth Commission on El Salvador pages 45-47

1964: Passage of National Service Act by Australian Parliament
2022-11-24 00:00 - 23:59
An Act to amend the National Service Act 1951-1957. The National Service Act 1964, was an Australian federal law, passed on 24 November 1964, which required 20-year-old males to serve in the Army for a period of twenty-four months of continuous service (reduced to eighteen months in 1971) followed by three years in the Reserve. Date of Assent: 24 November 1964. Date of Repeal: 30 June 1992. Repealed by: Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1992.

Australian Parliament Legislation

For reflection

What do you know about the history of national service, conscription and conscientious objection in Australia?

How does national service relate to Church teaching about war and nonviolence?

1986 Meeting of St John Paul II with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Alice Springs
2022-11-29 00:00 - 23:59
‘You are part of Australia and Australia is part of you. And the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.’ St John Paul II, Alice Springs, 1986.

Thirty years later, John Lochowiak, Chairperson of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, reflected on the importance of St John Paul II’s visit.

‘As Saint John Paul II spoke, a wind storm picked up the red soil from the Earth and swirled it amongst our people. The dust seemed to intertwine with the words of love, hope and empathy. The message touched our souls and it touched our skin. Never before had we felt so welcome in the house of Jesus. The impact of this day on our lives cannot be measured. It provided the encouragement for the establishment of Aboriginal and Islander Catholic Ministries all over Australia and it lit the fire our hearts which still provides the warmth, energy and strength for us to continue. We now have over 120,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics in Australia and the support of our Australian Catholic Bishops on our journey of faith.’ John Lochowiak, NATSICC Chairperson, 2016

1980: Death of Dorothy Day, Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement
2022-11-29 00:00 - 23:59
Dorothy Day was a journalist and social activist who cofounded the Catholic Worker Movement with Peter Maurin. Her approach to social issues combined direct service of the poor, prayer, advocacy and civil disobedience.

People began hailing Dorothy a saint shortly after her death in 1980. The cause for her canonisation is underway and in 2012 she was recognised as a Servant of God.

You can read more about Dorothy’s life and spirituality here.

1971: Synod of Bishops' Statement "Justice in the World"
2022-11-30 00:00 - 23:59
The Post Synodal Statement of the 1971 Synod of Bishops contains some of the most quoted words in the body of modern Catholic Social Teaching:

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” Synod of Bishops, Justice in the World, Introduction,1971.

Action

Remember or research what the world was like in 1971. What were the most important messages of Justice in the World at that time, and what does it say to us today?

Read this introduction to Justice in the World. Identify and reflect on what struck you or surprised you.

1961: First raising of the Morning Star flag, West Papua
2022-12-01 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1961 the West Papuan national flag, the Morning Star was first raised. Although the Netherlands’ plans for West Papuan independence at that time did not come to fruition, the flag prepared for an independent West Papua continues to be a symbol of the desire for self determination and independence for the West Papuan people.

Find out more at West Papua Flag Day

1976: Appointment of Sir Douglas Nicholls as Governor of South Australia, first Aboriginal person to hold vice-regal office
2022-12-01 00:00 - 23:59
“A trailblazer who won hearts around the nation, the achievements of Sir Douglas Nicholls KCVO OBE JP are many and varied, taking in the fields of sport, politics and social justice. He broke new ground — as the first Indigenous Australian to receive a knighthood in 1972, and the first to be appointed to vice-regal office, when he became Governor of South Australia in 1976.” Aboriginal Victoria, Sir Douglas Nicholls KCVO OBE JP: A Trailblazer Who Won Hearts Around the Nation

2000: 350,000 people walk for reconciliation in Melbourne and Perth
2022-12-02 00:00 - 23:59
The Melbourne walk, starting at Flinders Street Station and finishing at King’s Domain gardens, drew as many as 300,000 people.

The bridge walk and similar events across Australia were enormously important in showing that public sentiment was moving towards support for more concrete steps in the reconciliation process. Though the event was organised by Aboriginal people those taking part were from all sections of the Australian community.

Importantly, the walks were not a protest but a peaceful demonstration that reflected a shift in the public mood and a growing awareness of the importance of reconciliation and a need for a national apology.

Walk for reconciliation, National Museum Australia

For reflection

Did you, or someone you know, participate in a walk for reconciliation? How did you / they feel that day? And how do you / they feel about action for reconciliation now?

Tewnty years later, how might we take up and support the Uluru Statement from the Heart?

2000: Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Final Report presented
2022-12-04 00:00 - 23:59
At the end of the year 2000, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation handed its final report to the national Parliament at a ceremonial event at Parliament House in Canberra. This letter contained in the full report provides an overview of the decade-long work of the Council and a way forward for the nation to achieve reconciliation.

Read the full report at the Australian Legal Information Institute.

Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus)
2022-12-06 00:00 - 23:59
Children all over the world know him and love him. In Germany, he’s Kriss Kringle. In France, he’s Pere Noel. British children call him Father Christmas. Of course, you know him as Santa Claus.

He’s got another name – it’s an ancient one that goes back hundreds of years. It’s one of the very first names people called him: St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was the bishop of Myra which is in the country we now call Turkey. Nicholas was loved for one reason. He loved. He loved God and God’s people so much that he would do anything for them.

St. Nicholas showed his gratitude for God’s gifts by giving to others. What gifts can your family share with those in need?

Source: Loyola Press.

1965: Vatican II Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes ('Joys and Hopes')
2022-12-07 00:00 - 23:59
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.” (#1) – Second Vatican Council, 1965

The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965. Read an introduction to Gaudium et Spes here.

1992: Redfern Speech by Prime Minister Paul Keating
2022-12-10 00:00 - 23:59
“It begins, I think with that act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice.” – Former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Redfern Speech, 1992

On 10 December 1992, Prime Minister Paul Keating delivered a speech to the large crowd gathered in Redfern Park for the launch of the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. It was a historic moment for Australia. In his speech, Keating explicitly acknowledged the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. It was the first time a prime minister spoke about the dispossession, violence and prejudice perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Read Paul Keating’s Speech Transcript via ANTAR’s website.

1948: Adoption of United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
2022-12-10 00:00 - 23:59
Celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by reading a simplified version [PDF ] or the illustrated booklet of the Declaration, or watching the Declaration in sign languages.

1831: Founding of Sisters of Mercy by Catherine McAuley
2022-12-12 00:00 - 23:59
Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1778. In 1824 she used her inheritance from an Irish couple she had served for twenty years to build a large House of Mercy where she and other lay women would shelter homeless women, reach out to the sick and dying and educate poor girls. The House on Baggot Street opened in 1827. To give these efforts greater stability, Catherine and her co-workers founded a new religious congregation. On 12 December 1831, she and two others professed their vows as the first Sisters of Mercy. Before her death on 11 November 1841, Catherine founded convents and works of mercy throughout Ireland and England.

Source: Mercy International Association

1993: Passage of Native Title Bill by the Australian Senate
2022-12-21 00:00 - 23:59
The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (NTA) is a law passed by the Australian Parliament that recognises the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in land and waters according to their traditional laws and customs. It established a process for claiming and recognising native title lands and waters in Australia. The NTA aims to balance Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples’ rights to land, and sets out how native title rights and interests fit within Australian law.

1901: Enactment of Immigration Restriction Act (White Australian Policy)
2022-12-23 00:00 - 23:59
At the end of the 19th century, Australian colonies had concerns about who was migrating to Australia. With a rise in the number of migrants from China and the Pacific, many colonies passed tough immigration legislation. The Immigration Restriction Act was one of the first Commonwealth laws passed after Federation. It was based on the existing laws of the colonies. The aim of the law was to limit non-white (particularly Asian) immigration to Australia, to help keep Australia ‘British’. The ‘White Australia Policy’ was not fully removed until 1972.
