As covered in Professor Ann Curthoys the 1965 Freedom Ride was a significant moment in the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activism. If you would like to know more about the Freedom Ride The 1965 Freedom Ride online exhibition by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is a great resource. You can also find here a comprehensive Reading list: Freedom Ride and Ann Curthoys’ diaries. Happy exploring.
History at war referred to Anne Curthoys and John Docker’s description of history wars in Is History Fiction? (2006).
Professor Anne Curthoys is one of the reasons why I love Australian history. I feel very lucky that I took her course History and Theory at the Australian National University. It was so thought-provoking. Like all great classes, at the end I had more questions than answers.
In the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activism, Anne Curthoys is both historian and participant. She was part of the 1965 Freedom Ride. Inspired by the United States 1961 Freedom Rides, University of Sydney students, travelled through regional towns such as Walgett, Gulargambone, Kempsey, Bowraville and Moree to show wider Australia the racism and disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians. In 2002 Anne’s account of the 14 days she spent as a freedom rider was published — Freedom ride : a freedom rider remembers.
Do you know other historians who have been participants in the history they document?
The history spark 