The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a permanent protest occupation site as a focus for representing the political rights of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. Established on 26 January 1972, and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, it is the longest continuous protest for Indigenous land rights in the world.
Image: First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, outside Parliament House, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. (38934424564) (cropped)
Image: Police question Aboriginal Embassy protesters, Canberra, 27 January 1972. (27864808359)
Image: Bobbi Sykes and Gordon Briscoe 1972
Image: Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra 006
The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
McMahon government
Prime Minister John Gorton with William McMahon shortly after the unsuccessful leadership challenge in 1969
Members of the McMahon Ministry at their swearing-in on 22 March 1971
McMahon confronted by reporters in 1972