Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum
Past exhibition
Former boxer Jack Hassen and his daughter demonstrating outside Parliament House, Canberra, in the lead up to the 1967 Referendum. Photo: AIATSIS Collection DIXON.C01.DF-D00000172
To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, the Museum of Australian Democracy is launching a new, collaborative exhibition.
The national referendum on 27 May 1967 was a historic one. An overwhelming majority of Australians – over 90 per cent – voted YES to allowing the federal government to make laws in relation to Aboriginal people and to allowing Aboriginal people to be included in the census.
It was a major milestone in the democratic journey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. And it was in the offices, corridors and chambers of Old Parliament House that critical relationships were forged, key conversations took place and where the legislation to change the Constitution was tabled and passed.
In Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum, discover the historic events and strong relationships involved in making the referendum happen and explore the significance of the referendum today.
The exhibition features a new film starring Indigenous actor Hunter Page-Lochard, who puts the referendum in its historical context and talks about why it is still important today. It also features contemporary comments from prominent Australians, discussing how they feel about the referendum on this important anniversary.
Yes: The Ongoing Story of the 1967 Referendum is a joint exhibition by the Museum of Australian Democracy, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and Reconciliation Australia.
