2017

1. 18 November Remains repatriation

   After more than 40 years away from country at the Australian National University in Canberra, the remains of Mungo Man (the oldest Aboriginal remains discovered at Lake Mungo), along with those of around 100 other Aboriginal people, return home to his ancestral homelands of the Mutti Mutti, Ngiyampaa and Paakantji peoples. ^[1]

2. 20 November Politics

   Greens’ Lidia Thorpe defeats Labor’s Clare Burns in a seat the party had held for 90 years to become the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the Victorian parliament.

3. 27 November Politics

   Australian Labor Party member Cynthia Lui becomes the first Torres Strait Islander elected to office during the Queensland state election by winning the Cook electorate.

4. 11 December Recognition

   The International Astronomical Union formally approves four Aboriginal names for stars. Three names come from the Wardaman language of northern Australia: Larawag is now used for the star previously known as Epsilon Scorpii, Ginan replaces Epsilon Crucis (the smallest of the five stars that make up the Southern Cross), and Wurren is used for Zeta Phoenicis. The Boorong people of the Wergaia language group in northwestern Victoria contribute Unurgunite (an ancestral figure who fights the Moon) for the star Sigma Canis Majoris.
   

5. 26 December Sport

   A crew of 16 Aboriginal people aboard the Southern Excellence II is the first Aboriginal team to compete in an official yacht race, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Because they missed the entry deadline they are not part of the official race.

2018

1. January Education

   For the first time, Year 11 HSC students can learn about pre-1788 Aboriginal history in the same way they are taught ancient Greek and Roman history, with a new ‘Ancient Australia’ unit within the Ancient History Stage 6 syllabus. Students investigate ancient artefacts and sites in their local area.

2. 26 January Sport

   Wiradjuri woman and tennis legend Evonne Goolagong-Cawley is made a companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest honour. She is recognised for her services to the game as a player and ambassador, and her work as a role model and advocate for young Aboriginal Australians. She was also named Australian of the year in 1971 and made an officer of the Order of Australia in 1983.

3. February Sport

   First Nations skater Harley Windsor becomes the first Aboriginal Australian to compete at the Winter Olympics when he joins the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he finishes 18th with his skating partner Katya Alexandrovskaya.

4. 16 February Treaty

   The South Australian government signs the Buthera Agreement, a formal agreement with the people of the Narungga nation (Yorke Peninsula), believed to be a first step towards a state based treaty. The agreement commits both parties to negotiate for treaty over the next three years and includes a commitment from the government to provide support to Narungga people in economic and community development work. The name comes from the Narungga Dreaming of Buthera, a giant man demonstrating his strength, resilience and passion towards his people. ^[2]

5. 22 February Arts

   Ganalbingi man and artist Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr, from the remote community of Gapuwiyak in the Northern Territory, wins the inaugural Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award.

6. March Treaty

   The newly elected Liberal government under Steven Marshall in South Australia stops the state’s treaty process. The SA treaty process had advanced to the signatory stage and had funding allocated to it by the previous Labor government.

7. 1 March Politics Recognition

   Vonda Malone is named the inaugural McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year by a judging panel including former prime ministers. They recognise Malone, who became the first female mayor of the Torres Shire Council in 2016, for her work in finding community-led solutions for critical issues in the Torres Strait Islands, such as waste management, housing shortages and healthcare.^[3]
   

8. 9 April Treaty

   During a visit of His Royal Highness Prince Charles a delegation of Yolŋu clan leaders lead by politician Yingiya Mark Guyula present a ‘Letter Stick’ expressing their fight for sovereignty and asking for support. It read:

   "This here is Yolngu Land, we are sovereign people and we live by Yolngu law. We have many difficulties with the Australian Governments because they do not recognise our sovereignty. We need to correct this situation, for the sake of our children and their children, for our cultural survival, – for our ancestors. We are the oldest living culture in the world. I request, on behalf of the people standing before you, and the Yolngu nations that you intervene on our behalf and take a strong position to acknowledge our sovereignty and promote a pathway to Treaty. We are the only indigenous people of a Commonwealth country that does not have the respect or dignity of a Treaty with our people. Will you advocate on our behalf for our justice? Please accept this letter stick and create a diplomatic passage for this letter stick from your highly respected position to the Prime Minister of Australia, in order to help our sovereign nations reach Treaty.” ^[4]

9. 9 April Treaty

   His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales visits Nhulunbuy, in north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, for his first visit to the remote region. He meets with members of the Yolngu Nations Assembly and local politician Yingiya Mark Guyula who present His Royal Highness with a ‘Letter Stick’ that expressed their sovereignty and requested the Price “to acknowledge our sovereignty and promote a pathway to Treaty”. [5]

10. 13 April Recognition

    Wiradjuri woman Dhani Gilbert wins the 2018 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year Award for her community work, academic pursuits and advocacy for Aboriginal people.

11. 21 April Arts

    Gurrumul’s final album Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow) becomes the first number one Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album in an Aboriginal language, only a week after its release on 13 April. In August at the 2018 National Indigenous Music Awards it wins Album of the Year, Song of the Year for the title track, and Gurrumul is posthumously named Artist of the Year.

12. 28 April Sport

    Cathy Freeman receives the Order of Merit award, the Australian Olympic Committee's highest honour.

13. 1 May Sport Stamps

    

    Australia Post commemorates the 150th anniversary of the first international cricket tour of England in 1868 by a team of 13 Aboriginal cricketers, most of whom were Jardwadjali, Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk men from the Western District of Victoria. They played 47 matches, won 14, drew 19 and lost 14. A men's and women's Aboriginal XI squad went on a commemorative tour of England in June 2018 to celebrate the anniversary.

14. 28 May Reconciliation

    The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first state or territory to recognise reconciliation with a public holiday by changing its Family & Community Day to become a Reconciliation Day public holiday. It will now be the first Monday on or after 27 May.

15. 7 June Treaty

    The lower house of the Victorian government passes the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018 to create the framework for the treaty process. It is the first time legislation committing to treaty negotiations has ever been considered by an Australian parliament. ^[5] The framework will establish an Aboriginal representative body which in turn will help establish the process for the negotiation of a treaty, or treaties, between Aboriginal people and the state of Victoria.

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References