The 1967 referendum : race, power and the Australian Constitution

The 1967 Referendum explores the legal and political significance of the referendum and the long struggle by black and white Australians for constitutional change. On 27 May 1967 a remarkable event occurred. An overwhelming majority of electors voted in a national referendum to amend clauses of the Australian Constitution concerning Aboriginal people. Today it is commonly regarded as a turning point in the history of relations between Indigenous and white Australians. This was the historic moment when citizenship rights were granted - including the vote - and the Commonwealth at long last assumed responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. But the referendum did none of these things. The 1967 Referendum explores the legal and political significance of the re Acknowledgments Abbreviations Preface 1 The Constitution and the Power of Race 2 The Commonwealth and Aboriginal Affairs 3 The Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement and Constitutional Change 4 The 1962-3 Petition Campaign 5 The Coalition Government and the Demand for a Referendum 6 The Campaign for the 'Yes' Vote 7 The Poll and its Consequences 8 Remembering and Forgetting the Referendum 9 Reconciliation and Constitutional Change 10 Race, Rights and the Constitution Documents Notes Index. Tracing the emergence of a series of powerful narratives about the Australian constitution and the status of Aborigines, this book reveals how and why the referendum campaign acquired so much significance and has since become the subject of highly charged myth in contemporary Australia.