Freedom Ride '65 Exhibition at the Library

Our recent exhibition Freedom Ride ‘65 : Unpublished Photographs from the Tribune Archive was a great success, providing tremendous exposure to these rarely seen images. They are powerfully evocative testimonies of the conditions and experiences of people in country NSW at that time. The exhibition was opened at the Library from 5 September to 29 November 2015.

An added benefit is having people from the same rural areas engage with the photos and relate their memories of the Freedom Ride, and help name the people depicted.

The photo below, for example, was previously unlabelled. After meeting with Moree Elder Zona Moore (in the right picture), we now know the photo shows Freedom Riders Ann Curthoys and Louise Higham interviewing May Copeland (Fenella Stanley) and Tottie Barlow (Bertha Saunders) at Moree Aboriginal Station. This important information have been added to the Library’s catalogue record.

Negatives from the Tribune (Communist Party of Australia newspaper) featuring the Freedom Rides SAFA (Student Action For Aboriginals)

The photographs exposed in the exhibition can be found in the Library's catalogue.