The Gurindji Strike

The Aborigines who attracted most public attention and sympathy in the 1960's were the Gurindji people of the Northern Territory.

The Gurindji weren't on a mission or reserve: they were employees of Vestey's, a British pastoral company with the lease on a huge tract of land at Wave Hill.

In August of 1966, a hundred and seventy aboriginal employees of the company went on strike over poor working and living conditions.

At first they even had the sympathy of some government officials, who felt the Gurindji were at last "real workers", prepared to take industrial action, just like rest of the Australian workforce.

In March the following year, the Wave Hill strikers moved their camp to Wattie Creek and petitioned the Federal government for land to set up their own pastoral and mining operation. Eight years later, they got their land.