Case Studies Archives

close up of Australian Aboriginal flag being carried by protestors

First Nations Resources: Start Here

A guide to First Nations campaigning and activist resources in the Commons Social Change Library including stories and perspectives.

Tasmanian Wilderness Society blocks dam construction (Franklin River Campaign) 1981-83

Tasmanian Wilderness Society activists blockaded the Tasmanian Franklin below Gordon Dam site, proposed by the Hydro Electric Commission.

Australian Rainforest Action Groups boycott Malaysian rainforest timber, 1988-1994

Australian Rainforest Action Groups blockaded ships bringing rainforest timbers logged in Sarawak, Malaysia.

International groups boycott Nestle products to end indiscriminate advertising, 1977-1984

Nestle artificial baby milks infant formula marketing Third World International Baby Food Action Network.

Hazara asylum seekers hunger strike on Nauru, 2003-2004

Hazara refugee asylum seekers engaged in hunger strikes to protest their continuing detention by Australia on Nauru.

World Peace Day March near the Hotel Australia, King William Street, North Adelaide, 1969. People have signs, which read, "End Conscription", "Save our Sons", and "Bring our boys back".

Australian women protest conscription during Vietnam War [Save Our Sons (SOS)], 1965-1972

Save Our Sons opposed military conscription for Australia’s role in the United States invasion and occupation of Vietnam.

Crowd of strikers in Market Square, Brisbane

Australians general strike for right to unionize, Brisbane, Australia, 1912

Brisbane unionists organised a general strike in 1912 to protect and enhance the rights of tramways workers to organise.

Photograph of a billboard advertising Winfield cigarettes. The billboard advertising reads 'Anyhow... Winfield 25s'. Graffiti has been inserted so it reads 'Anyhow buga up a Winfield 25'.

Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) campaigns against tobacco advertising, Australia, 1978-1994

Civil disobedience actions reversed tobacco advertising messages to show the negative health effects of cigarettes.

anti nuclear protestors on USS Worden ship with protest banners saying No Nuclear Weapons

Australians campaign against nuclear power and uranium mining, 1974-1988

Street marches and trade union action typified Australian resistance to the building of nuclear reactors and uranium mining and export.

Dilemma Actions: the power of putting your opponent in a bind

A study of 44 dilemma actions over the last 90 years examines the many benefits of creative protests for social movements.

Circular orange badge featuring at centre the slogan 'Stop the 71 tours' in black text and 'Anti-apartheid movement - fight apartheid' at bottom of badge.

Australians block cricket and impede rugby tour of apartheid South Africa, 1971

Anti-apartheid protesters impeded the South African Springboks rugby tour, and stopped the cricket tour, to protest racial inequality.

protestors with a banner that says Thanks but no tanks

Thanks But No Tanks: Learnings from Disrupt Land Forces [Brisbane: 2021]

Actions and learnings from Australia’s Disrupt Land Forces Campaign at the Brisbane’s 2021 Land Forces weapons expo.

Greenpeace and Sea Shepherds force Japanese seafood company Nissui to sell stakes in whale hunting ships 2005-2006

Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd initiated a consumer boycott against Sealord Tuna to end whaling by its parent company, Nissui.

Black and white photograph of a sign that reads: 'GURINDJI Mining Lease and Cattle Station'.

Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality, 1946-1949

Indigenous pastoral workers in the Kimberley region of Western Australia struck for equal wages and full civil rights in the late 1940s.

Indigenous Gurindji win Land Rights in Australia (Wave Hill Walk Off) 1966-1975

The Gurindji of Wave Hill Station (Northern Territory) protested by a walkout against low wages, leading to the land rights movement.

Greenpeace pushes for global ban on CFCs 1986 – 1995

Greenpeace International agitated for a ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to protect the global ozone layer from ultraviolet radiation. This case study describes the campaign.

Greenpeace pressures Coca-Cola to phase out HFC refrigeration for Olympic Games in Australia 2000-2004

Greenpeace International agitated for Coca Cola to desist from HFC refrigerants prior to the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000.

The flag of the Torres Strait Islands. It features a white Dhari (traditional headdress), with a five-pointed white star beneath it. The background is dark blue, with green stripes at the top and bottom of the flag.

Torres Strait soldiers stage stay at home strikes, 1943

Torres Strait Islander soldiers strike to end discrimination in the army during World War Two.

Torres Strait Islanders hold maritime strike against pearling industry, 1936

Torres Strait Islanders refused work in the Native Affairs pearling fleet due to racial discrimination and held a maritime strike in 1936.

Black and white photograph of a large crowd of protestors. Banners include 'Vietnam Moratorium Campaign' and 'Stop the Country to Stop the War'.

Vietnam Moratorium Campaign: Australian citizens force end to participation in Vietnam War

Australian civil society groups resisted military participation in the war in Vietnam through organised and nonviolent action, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.

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Case Studies