We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
From the 4 February 1939 an estimated 200 to 300 people walked off the Cummeragunja Mission on Yorta Yorta Country in protest of inhumane living conditions and treatment.
First Nations people are warned that this article refers to people now passed to be with our Ancestors. Disclaimer: The term Aborigine is used in this article as it was a term used at the time. It is now considered an offensive term by many First Nations people.
Following the walk-off, many relocated to nearby towns including Barmah, Echuca and Mooroopna on Yorta Yorta Country.
Described as one of the first-ever mass protests of First Nations people across the continent, the walk-off was supported by years of lobbying and advocacy from activists including William Cooper, Sir Doug Nicholls and Jack Patten.
It followed the historic first Day of Mourning protest on 26 January 1938 on Gadigal Land, and had a significant impact on events to follow including the 1967 Referendum.
Community members continue to live on Cummeragunja to this day and in 2019, community gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the walk-off (pictured above).
Cummeragunja Mission was established in 1888 on Yorta Yorta Country along the Murray River on the NSW side.
Before Cummeragunja Mission, many families were dispossessed and relocated to a nearby mission along the Murray River known as Maloga Mission. Maloga operated from 1874 and closed in 1888, after residents moved to Cummeragunja Mission, due to missionary strict rules and poor living conditions.
Cummeragunja – meaning Our Home – formed following a petition from Maloga Mission residents in 1881, to the NSW Governor for land to call home.
While Cummeragunja Mission was established for people to leave Maloga, it remained under government control with residents living under ‘permissive occupancy'.
For over a decade in the lead up to the walk-off, residents on Cummeragunja worked without pay and lived on rations.
Years of lobbying by activists led to the walk-off, and in January 1939, Jack Patten encouraged residents to walk off the mission.
This was due to worsening living conditions under Mission Manager, Arthur McQuiggan, and the upcoming changes to the NSW Aborigines Protection Board policy which included the power to remove children at any time, for any reason.
Living conditions on the mission included housing in huts and shelters, weekly rations which often led to starvation, and having limited access to social, medical and education services.
On 4 February 1939, Jack Patten was arrested for ‘inciting Aborigines’ and removed from the mission, which led to the start of the walk-off. The walk-off ended nine months later and its legacy continues today.
We are a First Nations not-for-profit that exists to centre First Nations people, Country and truth-telling. We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
