Cubillo and Gunner Cases (NT)
The Cubillo and Gunner cases were chosen as "lead cases" by the Northern Australian Legal Aid Service Stolen Generation Litigation Unit, in an attempt to establish legal precedent for Stolen Generations cases. They argued that there had been a breach of duty of care by the Commonwealth through inadequate supervision and monitoring of the Retta Dixon Home in Darwin and the St Mary’s Hostel in Alice Springs, where the litigants Lorna Cubillo and Peter Gunner had spent part of their respective childhoods.
"Took the Children Away"
Archie Roach’s classic album “Charcoal Lane” was a breakout hit, bringing his distinctive storytelling about experiences of child removal to a mainstream audience. Its centrepiece, “Took the Children Away,” was not the first song about the Stolen Generations, but it possibly had the biggest impact, making Archie Roach a household name. He won two ARIA Awards in 1991 – for Best New Talent, and Best Indigenous Release, and “Took the Children Away” was nominated for Best Breakthrough Single. “Took the Children Away” also won an International Human Rights Achievement Award.
"My Brown Skin Baby"
Bob Randall’s song “My Brown Skin Baby” has been described as “the first anthem of the Stolen Generations”. “Tjilpi” Bob Randall was a Yankunytjatjara musician, writer and leader. Aged seven he was removed from his mother and taken to Alice Springs and then Arnhem Land, far from his home. The song, which was based on his own family’s experiences, came to popular attention through the ABC’s documentary series Chequerboard, when it was featured in an episode called “My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘im Away.”
Telling Our Story
The “Telling Our Story” report compiles dozens of the stories told by Aboriginal Western Australians to the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA). At this time, ALSWA was advocating for a national Royal Commission into Aboriginal child removal from families. It was the first time that stories of WA Aboriginal individuals and families that would come to be known as Stolen Generations. The initiative was led by the CEO of ALSWA, Rob Riley, a former inmate at Sister Kate’s Home. Reference "Bringing Them Home the ALSWA Way"
Women of the Sun
Women of the Sun is a four-part drama series that was aired on SBS, telling stories from Australian history from Aboriginal perspectives. In Episode 2, set in 1895, children are removed from their home by the Protector of Aborigines, separated from each other and sent to an institutional children’s home. It was one of the first dramatisations of what would come to be known as the Stolen Generations.
Link-Up Diary
This documentary film, directed by David McDougall and funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later known as AIATSIS), follows the work of Link-Up in NSW as they reunited a family that had been separated. It tells the stories of Coral Edwards and Peter Read. It was the third in a trilogy of documentary features, following It's a Long Road Back (1981) and Lousy Little Sixpence (1983).
Lousy Little Sixpence
This was a documentary film narrated by Chicka Dixon, and made by Coral (Oomera) Edwards. It features interviews with Aboriginal people whose families were affected by separation. It was the second in a series of documentary features after It's a Long Road (1981) and before Link Up Diaries (1987).
It's a Long Road Back
Directed by Oomera (Coral) Edwards, this was the first in a series of documentary films telling the story of separation of Aboriginal children, funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later known as AIATSIS). Others include Lousy Little Sixpence (1983) and Link-Up Diaries (1987).
Going Home Conference (NT)
More than 600 Aboriginal people who had been forcibly removed from their families as children came together in Darwin for the “Going Home” Conference. It focussed on issues like access to archival records, rights and access to land, compensation, and other options for people in the Northern Territory. It was organised by the Kari Aboriginal Child Care Agency. "The concept of the conference was promoted within the Stolen Generations ex-resident groups. These groups ... are: Garden Point, Croker Island, Retta Dixon, Groote Eylandt and Kahlin Compound established in the Top End; and the Bungalow, St. Mary's and St. John's established in Central Australia" (from "The long road home: the Going Home Conference", eds Jacqui Katona, Chip Mackinolty).
AAPA (NSW)
The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) is recognised as Australia’s first formal politically organised united Aboriginal activist group, although it built on earlier Aboriginal activism and protest movements. It had 13 branches and more than 600 members across New South Wales. It campaigned for land rights, citizenship, self-determination, and an end to the practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families.