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1907: Harvester minimum wage judgement by Justice Higgins

"In 1907 Justice Henry Bourne Higgins, President of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court, set the first federally arbitrated wages standard in Australia. Higgins’s ruling became the basis for setting Australia’s minimum wage standard for the next 70 years.Using the Sunshine Harvester Factory as a test case, Justice Higgins took the pioneering approach of hearing… Read More »1907: Harvester minimum wage judgement by Justice Higgins

1975: Dismissal of the Whitlam Government

"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… Read More »1975: Dismissal of the Whitlam Government

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1986 Meeting of St John Paul II with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Alice Springs

‘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… Read More »1986 Meeting of St John Paul II with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Alice Springs

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1986: Meeting of Saint John Paul II with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Alice Springs

"Dear Aboriginal people: the hour has come for you to take on new courage and new hope. You are called to remember the past, to be faithful to your worthy traditions, and to adapt your living culture whenever this is required by your own needs and those of your fellowman. Above all you are called… Read More »1986: Meeting of Saint John Paul II with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Alice Springs

1976: Appointment of Sir Douglas Nicholls as Governor of South Australia, first Aboriginal person to hold vice-regal office

"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… Read More »1976: Appointment of Sir Douglas Nicholls as Governor of South Australia, first Aboriginal person to hold vice-regal office

International Day for Abolition of Slavery

Slavery is not something from the past. According to the  International Labour Organisation (ILO) more than 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery. 'Modern slavery' is an umbrella term referring to practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. These practices place people in situations of exploitation that they cannot refuse… Read More »International Day for Abolition of Slavery

2000: 350,000 people walk for reconciliation in Melbourne and Perth

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… Read More »2000: 350,000 people walk for reconciliation in Melbourne and Perth