Long before shipping depots, runways and container yards reshaped Sydney’s industrial fringe, these were — and remain — Aboriginal lands. From the 1960s through to the early 2000s, families across NSW carried the legacies of mission life, removal policies, overcrowded housing, discriminatory policing and uneven access to education, while building new networks in Redfern, La Perouse, inner-west areas and western Sydney.
Urban activism — from community-controlled health services to legal aid, political organising and public protest — reshaped both the city and national policy. Much of this happened out of sight to outsiders but never stopped for the people living it.
Key points
•Aboriginal movement into Sydney rose sharply after World War II due to forced displacement, limited rural employment, and the search for safety and community.
•Redfern became a national centre for Aboriginal political and legal activism in the late 1960s–1980s.
•Policing, schooling and employment systems reproduced disadvantage well into the 1990s.
•Urban life reshaped culture — it never erased it.
Explore online
- Aboriginal migration & urban life
Aboriginal migration to Sydney since World War II
Clear, specific piece on mid-20th century movement into Sydney.
Strong overview of Aboriginal presence in central Sydney, past and present.
Activism & national change
Accessible and authoritative breakdown of the NSW Freedom Ride.
A reflective, narrative account from those involved.
Education, exclusion & inequality
Gateway to culturally informed education resources, policy context, and teaching frameworks.
A detailed research report; heavier reading but directly relevant.
Further reading
Dennis Foley — What the Colonists Never Knew: A History of Aboriginal Sydney
Valerie Chapman & Richard Read (eds.) — Terrible Hard Biscuits: A Reader in Aboriginal History
Richard Broome — Aboriginal Australians: A History Since 1788