TopicHistory

This topic focuses on Australian social movement history. There is so much to learn from the stories of past collective action for social and ecological justice. Learning social movement history can provide insights about strategy, a vast toolbox of potential tactics, and abundant inspiration.

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  • |Contents page of report|Summary of report|

    Effective Action for Social Change: The Campaign to Save the Franklin River

    Learn lessons from one of the largest & most successful nonviolent direct action environmental protests in Australian history – the Franklin River campaign.

  • Uncle Kevin Buzzacott stands in front of a large banner depicting a black hand against a red and yellow nuclear symbol.

    Interview with Kevin Buzzacott

    Kevin Buzzacott is a key figure in the opposition to the South Australian Olympic Dam mine and the nuclear industry in general. In this interview he outlines a number of the creative actions he has taken part in as part of a series of campaigns addressing the issues of dispossession and Aboriginal sovereignty.

  • 5 black and white photos with a yellow wavy lines overlaying them. First image is of thousands of protestors at Walk on Washington

    Nonviolence Training: A Brief History

    A brief history of nonviolence training around the world, Australia and in the Pacific by a group called Pt’Chang.

  • ChangeMaker Chat with Ernie Cortes: Community Organising

    A chat with one of the biggest names in US community organizing, Ernie Cortes, including history, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) & Saul Alinksy.

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    Treesits, lock-ons and barricades: Environmental blockading in the 1980s

    From 1979 to the 1990s Australia, Canadian and American activists took part in a series of environmental blockades to defend old growth forests, rivers and other biodiverse places. Join Iain McIntyre for a series of conversations with the blockaders who took part in these campaigns.ย ย 

  • Cover of Iain McIntyre's 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: The AIDEX '91 Story'.|a line of police stand before protestors who are sitting down. There is a tape between with the words Crime Scene - Do not cross|a line of protestors with arms linked|a protestor holding up a sign that says Queers oppose Aidex. Fund Healthcare not Warefare. Queer Nation|Man dressed up in army gear in a cardboard box army tank in front of a group of protestors. He is part of the Members of the Sydney Peace Squadron performed street theatre throughout the AIDEX blockade in Canberra

    Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: The AIDEX ’91 Story

    In 1991 over 1000 protesters blockaded the National Exhibition Centre in Canberra with the goal of shutting down the Australia International Defence Exhibition. This book includes a detailed account of the blockade, the context of the growth of the Australian arms industry, and the words of the protesters themselves.

  • Black and white photograph of a group of men marching with arms interlinked. Banner reads 'Support BLF Green Bans'.

    Green Bans

    In the 1970s Sydney builders labourers refused to work on projects that were environmentally or socially undesirable. This green bans movement, as it became known, was the first of its type in the world.

  • Black and white photograph of four protestors standing in front of Old Parliament House. Placards read 'Land Ownership Not Lease'

    The Aboriginal Tent Embassy

    The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in 1972 when the Coalition Government failed to recognise the land rights of Indigenous people. From its inception, the Embassy has been interwoven into Canberra’s physical and political landscape, blending black politics, symbolism and theatre that opponents have found difficult to counter.

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

    The Vietnam War

    Case study of the Australian campaign against involvement in the Vietnam War. The emergence of popular protest in Australia during the 1960s presented a fundamental challenge to government decisions and the way those decisions are made. By taking to the streets people challenged the policy positions of government and, in some cases, the very legitimacy…

  • Black and white photograph of protestors standing next to bus.

    The Freedom Ride

    The Freedom Ride through western New South Wales towns in February 1965 drew attention to the racism in these towns. Aboriginal student Charles Perkins was, by the end of the journey, a national figure in the fight for Aboriginal rights.

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