My name is Sam Wickman and in 1972 I was at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra ….

By
Paul Wiles
-

On the 26thJanuary 1972 four Aboriginal men erected a beach umbrella on the lawns of Parliament House in protest against the then Prime Minister William McMahon’s speech which rejected Aboriginal land rights and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to its ongoing assimilation policy. Arrente, Walpiri-Anmatyerre & Luritja man Sam Wickman explains why he was there.

Policemen pull down the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in front of Parliament House photo courtesy SMH
Policemen pull down the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in front of Parliament House Credit SMH

 The day after the main aggravated attack by the police we set up our own security people and I was one of the security guards.We faced off against 400 police on the other side of the street who thought we were going to attack parliament house.

Image: View courtesy National Museum of Australia.

“We needed to take things into our own hands.”

Sam Wickman – a former ranked professional middleweight fights an exhibition bout in Alice Springs PW photo

Listen here to part one of Sam Wickman’s enthralling recollection of the 1972 Tent Embassy protests.

“STILL WE RISE”- what made the 1972 Aboriginal Embassy protest the most effective political action in the history of the Aboriginal struggle?”