Sydney University student and Socialist Alliance activist Bronwyn Powell was among those on the Freedom Ride bus that left Sydney on February 12 to follow the route of the original 1965 Freedom Ride for Aboriginal rights. This is her diary of some of the journey's highlights.
Day 1: The Freedom Ride was launched at Sydney University, with a welcome to country by Aunty Ali and a smoking ceremony to bless the trip by Uncle Max. Several of the original Freedom Riders were there to farewell us. On the road, we stopped briefly to talk to some people at Lithgow, and at Bathurst some young people held up a sign supporting us as we drove past. We arrived at Dubbo late at night.
Day 2: In the morning we interviewed people on the street for the documentary that is being made of the trip. It was hard to get non-Indigenous people to talk to us on camera — being a small town they were worried about retribution if anyone saw the footage. In the afternoon, we visited the Gorden Centre, an Aboriginal community centre. We were shown around Westside — a predominantly Indigenous area often in the media for being a "trouble spot" — by Kevin Wilson, who is part of an Aboriginal security service that has recently begun patrolling the area at night. He said since they began patrolling, crime has reduced. We visited the Apollo Centre in East Dubbo, run by an Aboriginal women's organisation, whose funding is under threat. Most Indigenous people said that many problems stemmed from Indigenous youth having nothing to do, and they would like to see sports centres established that are accessible to Indigenous people.
Day 3: We visited a community centre in Gulargambone, where the local Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) is based — an employment program run by ATSIC. We then picked up a young Kamilaroi man who had not been allowed on the Countrylink bus. He was told that the bus was full and his ticket not valid, neither of which were true. On seeing the Countrylink bus at a service station on the way to Walgett, a Freedom Rider confronted the driver, who denied everything. A young non-Indigenous woman on the Countrylink bus spoke up in the Aboriginal man's defence and was told she'd be taken to the police, so she got off the bus and we gave her a lift. We arrived in Walgett, a flat, dusty town where nearly every shop was barred or caged in.
Day 4: After a swim in the river we visited a couple of missions, Gingi and Namoi, where houses are much better than they used to be, but have 3-4 families living in each. A few tin shacks had also recently sprung up. In the evening we screened Rachel Perkins' documentary on the 1965 Freedom Ride, and we showed some of our footage. A local Indigenous woman, May Creighton, told us that she had not been allowed to take her pillow on the Countrylink bus because she was told it may contain head-lice. Others spoke of how Aboriginal mothers are not allowed to take their prams into the supermarket, and how at the pub Aboriginal people get served last.
Day 5: Indigenous people we spoke to said that there was nothing for people to do, not enough jobs, and no youth centres, PCYC halls or anything. Many Indigenous people leave school in year 9 or 10. After a BBQ with the local community, we drove to Moree.
Day 6: The council had organised a rally outside the council chambers and a march to the Moree baths, where 40 years ago the Freedom Riders took Aboriginal children in, defying the colour bar. We had a refreshing swim in the pool, then a meeting to discuss how we could better collectivise the information we were gathering. We decided on a culturally appropriate "yarning circle" each day to debrief on our findings. At a BBQ with the local community in the evening, many Indigenous people told us that they are often followed around in shops, as shopkeepers and security guards assume they will steal.
Day 7: We arrived for lunch at Toomelah, an Indigenous township near Boggabilla. We met a man whose son had been picked up by property owners and taken to police several years ago, but was still too traumatised to speak about it. He said the racist problems in the Boggabilla/Goondiwindi area are mainly from the property owners who don't mingle in town with Aboriginal people. We divided up to go to Euraba Paper Company, a paper mill run by Aboriginal women, and Goondiwindi for interviews. We then drove to Tingha, encountering the first hills since Dubbo.
Day 8: We were shown around the Myall Creek massacre memorial by some of the Gamilaroi community. In the evening we had a BBQ at the Linking Together Centre in Inverell. Some people I spoke to said that unemployment is a big problem in the Aboriginal community there. Most jobs require that the employee has his or her driver's licence, whether they have to drive on the job or not. Anyone who has any unpaid fine cannot get their licence, which discriminates against many.
Day 9: On the road to Lismore.
Day 10: Lismore was the first place since Wellington where there were lots of non-Indigenous people coming to the community events. Where racism was worst, there had been no reconciliation groups. At lunch at the Gnibi Centre, at Southern Cross University, we heard stories of Indigenous people being told by real estate agents that there are no houses available for rent, while non-Indigenous people are shown a list of rental houses.
Day 11: On the drive to Bowraville, we stopped briefly at Coffs Harbour to talk to more people who were just going to wave as we went by. At Bowraville, we visited St Mary's primary school, where children performed for us and addressed us in traditional language, which is taught at the school. We were entertained in the Bowraville theatre, which used to be segregated.
Day 12: In Kempsey, Dhungatti land, we held workshops with local school and TAFE students. They nearly all believed that racism could only be overcome by educating young people about it. I interviewed a 13-year-old woman in Kempsey who said that she was bashed by police when she refused to be strip searched.
Day 13: In Taree, Biripi land, we visited Purfleet mission and the Aboriginal Medical Service. At night we discussed what we should present from our trip to politicians and media. Some suggestions to address the problems we witnessed included more Indigenous police officers, equipping missions with emergency telephones, more facilities for young people, Indigenous men's and women's refuges, free transport to missions, anti-racism teaching in schools, Indigenous language programs, culturally appropriate sex education, and a task force to investigate unsolved murders of Indigenous people.
Day 14: Two of us spoke to the school assembly of Chatham High, and in the afternoon drove to Newcastle for a meeting with the parliamentary secretary. In Newcastle I left the Freedom Ride, which returned to Sydney the next day. The trip was an incredible eye-opener to what Indigenous communities in NSW continue to face.
From Green Left Weekly, March 9, 2005.
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