At the Federal election of 1943, Enid Lyons (united Australia Party) and Dorothy Tangney (Australian Labour Party) became the first women to be elected to the Australian parliament. A video from the National Museum of Australia on this page tells their story. Today much remains to be done to counter ongoing resistance to hearing women's… Read More »1943: Election of the first women members of the Australian Parliament: Enid Lyons (House of Representatives) and Dorothy Tangney (Senate)

Margaret (Lilardia) Tucker (1904 - 1996) was one of Australia's earliest and most notable Aboriginal activists. The Indigenous Australia website explains: "Her Aboriginal name, Lilardia, means flower but she was known affectionately to black and white alike as 'Auntie Marge'. She was born at Warrangasda, an Aboriginal reserve near Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River… Read More »1996: Death of Margaret Tucker, Indigenous Australian activist and writer

On this day in 1966 the Gurindji walked off Wave Hill Station. What began as a strike over the refusal of Vestey Brothers to pay Aboriginal workers was to become a pivotal event in the struggle for the legal recognition of Aboriginal land rights. As the National Museum of Australia explains: "The Gurindji strike was… Read More »1966: Gurindji strike or Wave Hill Walk-off, beginning the longest strike in Australian history