In 1965 a group of students from the University of Sydney set off in a bus to draw national and international attention to the appalling living conditions of Aboriginal people and the endemic racism in NSW country towns.

Led by Charles Perkins, then one of only two Aboriginal students at the university, the Freedom Ride bus travelled throughout regional NSW aiming to smash the colour bar in many towns, including bans on Aboriginal children swimming in town pools and adults entering service clubs.

To the children of Collarenebri Central School, the Freedom Riders are superheroes and to mark the 60th anniversary this week of the defining moment in Australian activism they decorated gold superhero capes and presented them to five of the original participants.

On Monday the students walked through the streets and parks of Walgett with Elders and community, the NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and NSW parliamentarians, to mark the anniversary and perform the rap song ‘Come Change the Game’, written by former students of Collarenebri Central School.

Behind the scenes was Roslyn McGregor, a Kamilaroi Elder and project officer with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.

““The Freedom Riders were so young when they set out in their bus and many are now in their 80s,” Ms McGregor said.

“We wanted to celebrate them and what they did for Aboriginal people.”

Collarenebri Central School funded Ms McGregor’s vision to bring Kamilaroi artist Dennis Golding to Collarenebri for a two-day workshop with the students to decorate the superhero capes with their own slogans or those used during the 1965 Freedom Ride.

Mr Golding has previously collaborated with NSW students on his cape projects, which aim to empower Aboriginal young people of the strength of their culture in forming their identify and connection to Country, individually and together.

The students came back a few days before school started back in the Western Division to also learn about the Freedom Ride and to lock in the lyrics and dance moves to ‘Come Change the Game’.

Principal James Bryant said the students were so engaged to be part of the anniversary celebration, even though they were still technically on holidays.

“The students had a high level of pride and commitment. Some of the young ones just like to sing and dance but the older students were taking it all in,” he said.

Celebrating culture

‘Come Change the Game’ was written in 2011 by the ‘Colli Crew’ at Collarenebri Central School in collaboration with Desert Pea Media. The students performed the song at the NAIDOC Ball in Sydney in 2012 and at Indigenous music festivals.

“The song was so appropriate because change usually begins with young people, especially when things are so wrong for Aboriginal people,” Ms McGregor said.

At a celebration in Walgett on Monday, the students presented the special gold capes to five original Freedom Riders - Anne Curthoys, Aidan Foy, Beth Hansen, Chris Page and Alex Mills.

Dan van Velthuizen, relieving Director, Educational Leadership for the Barwon Principals Network, said the event was “such a celebration of Aboriginal culture and our local history”.

“Guest speakers addressed an audience of hundreds with inspirational stories of their own experiences growing up in Walgett and the changes that occurred to their lives as a direct result of the Freedom Ride,” he said.

“A highlight was the presentation of gold capes to the original Freedom Riders who were in attendance, along with AECG State President, Raymond Ingrey, and Vice-President Anne Dennis.

“The day was an amazing example of educational partnerships coming together to make learning truly authentic, engaging and life-changing.”

The Freedom Ride shone a light on the marginalisation of Aboriginal people. During their 15-day journey through regional NSW the students directly challenged a ban against Aboriginal ex-servicemen at the Walgett Returned Services League Club, and local laws barring Aboriginal children from Moree and Kempsey swimming pools.

Charles Perkins wrote that that Aboriginal people in Walgett could not believe the Sydney students were protesting on their behalf. “While we stood there the town came to life like an ant heap. They had never seen anything like it in their lives. People stared. It was a completely new experience, like seeing television for the first time or seeing a moonship fly past their window.”

In Moree, the Freedom Riders challenged the ban on Aboriginal children being allowed to swim in the town baths after the children had been demonstrating outside the pool for two days, eventually attracting a crowd of hundreds of people.

Ann Curthoys wrote in her diary: “Then - breakthrough! The mayor came up to us and stated categorically that he would be prepared to sign a motion to rescind the 1955 statute we were protesting against and would get two other aldermen to co-sign it.”

“They let the kids in for a swim and we went in with them,” Charles Perkins wrote. “We had broken the ban! Everybody came in! We saw the kids into the pool first and we had a swim with them. The Aboriginal kids had broken the ban for the first time in the history of Moree.”

The 1965 Freedom Ride left Sydney on 12 February 1965 and travelled to Wellington, Gulargambone, Moree, Boggabilla, Tenterfield, Grafton, Lismore, Cabbage Tree Island, Bowraville, Kempsey and Taree.

The late Charles (Charlie) Perkins was the first Aboriginal person to head an Australian Government department when he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1984 during the Hawke Government.