1788

1. 29 May Conflict

   The first conflict between the First Fleet arrivals and Aboriginal people takes place near Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. Two convicts are killed.

1804

1. 3 May Massacres Conflict

   William Moree, a lieutenant of the New South Wales Rum Corps, orders to open fire at Risdon Cove, Tasmania, on a group of about 300 Aboriginal people who are probably hunting kangaroos. Between 30 and 60 Aboriginal people are killed. The Lieutenant tries to cover-up the incident, claiming only 3 had been shot. ^[1]

   Hostilities increase – the slaughter of Aboriginal people in Australia has begun. Settlers are authorised to shoot unarmed Aboriginal people. ^[2]

1813

1. May

   Colonists, assisted by Aboriginal people, cross the Blue Mountains and create new hostilities as they pass through Aboriginal lands. The path the colonists take is in fact a long-established Aboriginal route that had been in constant use for thousands of years.

   

1816

1. 4 May

   Macquarie announces a set of regulations controlling the movement of Aboriginal people. No Aboriginal person is to appear armed within a mile of any settlement and no more than six Aboriginal people are allowed to ‘lurk or loiter near farms’.

1876

1. 8 May

   Truganini dies in Hobart aged 73. Against her wishes the Tasmanian Museum displays her bones. 100 years later members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community cremate and scatter them onto the water. The Tasmanian government does not recognise the Aboriginal heritage of people of Aboriginal descent and claims the “last Tasmanian Aboriginal person” has died. A falsehood many still believe today.

1912

1. 7 May Recognition

   Roper River Aboriginal man Aya-I-Ga, known as Neighbour, is awarded the prestigious Albert Medal by King George V after he saved Constable W F Johns from drowning. It is the first time that a gallantry medal is awarded to an Aboriginal Australian.

   How Aya-I-Ga saved the Constable

   "The constable led his horse into the stream, and they set out. Mr Johns swam with his left hand, his right hand resting on the saddle of his horse.
   

   Neighbour, with a chain around his neck that had been allowed to hang loose while the crossing was made, swam on the opposite side with his left hand on the saddle.

   In mid-stream the animal sank, and in going down kicked the constable in the head, knocking him semi-unconscious. The prisoner did not hesitate. He went to his captor's assistance, and soon got him to safety."

   It was an extraordinary act of courage considering how heavy Neighbour's chain was, but nevertheless they continued their journey to the police station where Constable Johns said there was no evidence to charge Neighbour, and allowed him to go. The story made headlines nationwide, and came to the attention of the British Parliament, which awarded him the medal. ^[3]

1965

1. May Education

   After entering in 1963, Charles Perkins becomes the first Aboriginal university graduate at University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts. He is also the first Aboriginal Australian to graduate from university.

1968

1. 8 May Recognition

   A railway track laying crew of mostly Torres Strait Islander workers breaks the world record for laying the greatest length of railway in a single day. Despite temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, the crew lays 7 kilometres of railway track for the Mount Newman to Port Hedland line (Western Australia), fully spiked and anchored, in 11 hours and 40 minutes.

1985

1. May Remains repatriation

   Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania returns the Tasmanian Aboriginal human remains commonly known as the Crowther Collection (33 skulls and three skeletons) for cremation at Oyster Cove. The "largest gathering of Tasmanian Aboriginal people in a decade" attends the cremation ^[4].

1995

1. 11 May Stolen Generations

   The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families is established in response to efforts made by key Aboriginal agencies and communities. It examines the effects of separation, identify what should be done in response, find justification for any compensation and look at the laws of that time affecting child separation.

   The inquiry holds hearings in all states between December 1995 and October 1996 and received 777 submissions, 69% of those from Indigenous people, 6% from churches and 1% from government.

1996

1. 27 May Reconciliation

   The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation organises the first National Reconciliation Week.

1997

1. 26 May Stolen Generations

   Publication of the Report Into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, more commonly known as the Bringing Them Home Report. An abbreviated version is called 'Bringing them Home - Community Guide'. The inquiry made 54 recommendations, e.g. reparations and an apology to Aboriginal peoples.

   Key findings:

   • 10 to 33% of the Aboriginal children were removed from their families between 1910 and 1970.
   • The stolen Aboriginal children often suffered physical and sexual abuse and official bodies failed to protect them.
   • Many Aboriginal children were never paid for the work they did ('Stolen Wages').
   • Under international law, from approximately 1946 the policies of forcible removal amount to genocide.
   • The removal of Indigenous children continues today.

   However, there was no process established to monitor, evaluate or review each recommendation (which was the Report's 2nd recommendation).
   

   I know of no Indigenous person who told their story to the inquiry who wanted non-Indigenous Australians to feel guilty—they just wanted people to know the truth.

   — Mick Dodson ^[5]

2. 26 May Stolen Generations

   The 700-page report of the ‘Stolen Children’ National Inquiry ‘Bringing Them Home’, is tabled in federal parliament. The report concludes that the forcible removal of children was an act of genocide, contrary to United Nations Convention on Genocide, ratified by Australia in 1949. Australians are shocked by the report’s details.

3. 27 May Politics Reconciliation

   During the opening address of the Reconciliation Convention Premier Minister John Howard refers to the plight of Australia’s Aboriginal people as a mere ‘blemish’, dismissing centuries of dispossession and violence as insignificant. Indigenous delegates in the audience stand and turn their backs on the Prime Minister in protest. The PM snaps and screams at the audience in return.

   In facing the realities of the past, [...] we must not join those who would portray Australia's history since 1788 as little more than a disgraceful record of imperialism [...] such an approach will be repudiated by the overwhelming majority of Australians who are proud of what this country has achieved although inevitably acknowledging the blemishes in its past history.

   — Then-Prime Minister, John Howard

1998

1. 26 May Stolen Generations

   HREOC releases the Social Justice Report 1998, which includes a summary of responses from the churches, and non-Indigenous community to the inquiry's recommendations plus an Implementation Progress Report.

2. 26 May Stolen Generations

   One year after the Bringing Them Home report the first Sorry Day is marked by hundreds of activities around the country. The Australian federal government does not take part in ‘Sorry Day’, saying people who removed Aboriginal children thought they were doing the right thing and people now should not have to say sorry for what people did in the past. Over 1 million signatures in thousands of Sorry Books speak a different language.

1999

1. 31 May Stolen wages

   Forced by a growing number of complaints of racial discrimination the Queensland government agrees to make a $25 million payout to thousands of Indigenous people who were employed by previous governments on Aboriginal reserves and paid at wages under the award rate in the years 1975 to 1986. The individual payout is $7,000.

   It was the first time any Queensland government openly admitted responsibility for discrimination and by far the largest settlement by any employer in respect of a discrimination matter.

   I grew up hungry. My hunger and malnutrition were a direct result of my family not being paid their full wages and entitlements.

   — Yvonne Butler, admitted to hospital for malnutrition in 1957 ^[6]

2000

1. May Stolen wages

   The Queensland Aboriginal & Islander Legal Service Secretariat (QAILSS) collects testimony from more than 2,000 people who want to take action against the government for missing, unpaid and underpaid monies.

2. 27 May Reconciliation

   Corroboree 2000 is held at Sydney Opera House to mark 10 years of work on reconciliation. Here, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation presents to the nation Corroboree 2000 - Towards Reconciliation which includes the documents ‘Australian Declaration towards Reconciliation’ and ‘Roadmap for Reconciliation’. The roadmap outlines four national strategies to advance reconciliation.

3. 28 May Reconciliation

   More than 250,000 people cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the People’s Walk for Reconciliation which lasted almost six hours. It became the largest political demonstration ever held in Australia. A week later, about 60,000 people crossed the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane. Many smaller walks followed in state capitals and regional towns across Australia. Big marches in Melbourne and Perth at the end of the year attracted as many as 300,000 people.

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References