Sunday, 15 June
1.30pm

On Australia Day 1972, four young Indigenous activists arrived on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra. They had little idea their small protest would turn into a major defining period of Australia's modern history.

Part two of Embassy Days starts from February 1972 and follows the impact that the Aboriginal Tent Embassy had on Australian society and politics. "We've achieved recognition just by being here, by being part of the country, not just alien," Aboriginal activist Ambrose Brown said about the Tent Embassy. "We haven't made the Government change its policy but we've embarrassed it, and we've made people think about the Aboriginal cause."

In May 1973, in the absence of Labor members (who supported the Tent Embassy), Parliament passed a law which made camping and the erection of tents on Parliamentary lawns illegal. The protesters at the Tent Embassy were forcefully removed and, in some cases, arrested. It has been described as one of the most violent events in Australia's history. This clash between the police and protesters put the spotlight on the issue of Aboriginal land rights, thus attracting even greater support from Australians for the cause.

The Tent Embassy became a national voice for Aboriginal Australians, and played a major role in the Whitlam Government's creation of the first Australian Land Rights legislation and the establishment of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs after they swept to power on 5 December 1972. A new phase in the struggle for Aboriginal land rights had begun.

Embassy Days presents this raw and emotional time as it was captured with rarely seen images and interviews, and appearances by Charles Perkins, Gough Whitlam, William McMahon, Cath Walker, Gary Foley, Paul Coe and Dennis Walker. Directed and Produced by Ivan Sen (A Sister's Love, Yellow Fella, Broken Borders, Aunty Connie, Shifting Shelter, Dreamers, Who Was Evelyn Orcher?, Beneath Clouds).

Message Stick: Embassy Days: Pt 2 will be repeated on ABC2 – Monday, June 16 at 4:30pm