Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy facts for kids
The Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy was a protest camp in Redfern, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. It was set up by Aboriginal Australians. The main goal was to keep a piece of land called The Block for Aboriginal people. They wanted this land to be used only for affordable homes for Aboriginal families.
The protest was started by an Aboriginal elder named Jenny Munro. It was named after the first Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra. The people running the Redfern Embassy said they were fighting against Redfern becoming too expensive. They called the moving out of Aboriginal people "social cleansing".
Contents
Why Was the Embassy Started?
The Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy began on National Sorry Day, May 26, 2014. Jenny Munro, her husband Lyall Munro Jnr, and other Aboriginal elders put up many tents on the empty land.
This land, known as The Block, used to have houses. These houses were bought in 1972 with money from the Whitlam Government. This happened because of a campaign led by Bob Bellear. He wanted to make sure Aboriginal people had low-cost housing. At that time, Aboriginal people faced a lot of unfair treatment when trying to find homes to rent. More houses were bought over time.
The Aboriginal Housing Company
The Aboriginal Housing Company (AHC) is a charity for Aboriginal people. It was created to manage and provide affordable housing. Over the years, some people complained that the AHC was not clear about its money. They were also accused of favouring family members and not managing things well.
As house prices in Redfern went up a lot, the AHC started asking Aboriginal tenants to leave The Block. They moved them to other AHC houses further from Sydney. Then, the AHC pulled down the empty houses on The Block.
The Land Dispute
Jenny Munro said that The Block is special and sacred Aboriginal land. But on May 26, 2014, Michael Mundine, the head of the Aboriginal Housing Company, said The Block was private land. However, he told reporters he would not ask the police to remove the people at the tent embassy.
Mundine announced plans for a big building project across the road from The Block. This project would cost $70 million. It would include shops, a gym, and homes for 154 non-Aboriginal students from the nearby University of Sydney. He also said he still planned to build Aboriginal housing on The Block, but there was no money for it yet. People were worried that the plans had changed. They asked for more clear information.
Mundine caused anger when he worked with a company called Deicorp. This company's agents had advertised new luxury apartments nearby. They said, "The Aboriginals have already moved out, now Redfern is the last virgin suburb close to city, it will have great potential for the capital growth in the near future."
What Happened Next?
On February 21, 2015, the AHC sent notices to the tent embassy residents. These notices told them they were on private land and would be removed. The Aboriginal people at the embassy promised to stay.
In August 2015, the protesters lost a court case. They had asked the Supreme Court to say they had the right to the land. But the court decided the land belonged to the AHC. The protesters had said they would not leave until the AHC promised to build affordable homes for Aboriginal people there.
The Tent Embassy later said they had won a victory that same month. The federal government agreed to spend $70 million on 62 homes for Aboriginal people. The embassy has since closed. As of July 2017, the site is still fenced off and has not been developed.
A well-known Aboriginal activist, Ray Jackson, strongly supported the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy. He was often seen there until he passed away in April 2015.
