Australia signs the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.
South Australia passes Aboriginal Lands Trust Bill and the Prohibition of Discrimination Bill, the first state act prohibiting discrimination on grounds of race, colour or country of origin. South Australia also passes the Aboriginal Affairs Act Amendment Bill (1966-67) and the Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act (1965).
200 Gurindji stockmen at Wave Hill Station, Northern Territory walk off in protest at unequal pay and conditions and as a statement about ownership of their traditional land. The strike lasts 9 years and culminates in some land being returned to the Gurindji people by Prime Minister Whitlam in 1975.
The Conciliation and Arbitration Commission finds in favour of an application from the North Australian Workers’ Union for award wages for Aboriginal pastoral workers. The cattle industry reacts by phasing out Aboriginal labour and driving Aboriginal communities progressively off the properties which are their traditional lands.
Review of immigration policy substantially weakens the White Australia policy; the 15 year residence requirement for non-Europeans is reduced to 5 years.
An average of 120,000 migrants arrive per year. A large-scale intake of refugees results in greater diversity in the Australian population.
Dr Charles Nelson Perkins AO enters the University of Sydney in 1963 and graduates with a Bachelor of Arts in May 1966. He is the first Indigenous Australian to graduate from university. He is instrumental in establishing the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in Sydney and forges a lasting connection with the Sydney Aboriginal community.
