How the 1967 referendum unfolded

How the 1967 referendum unfolded.

Historical records said little about Aborigines at the various conferences and conventions that preceded federation. The resulting Australian Constitution of 1901 mentioned Aboriginal people only twice, on both occasions in ways that came to be viewed negatively.

The original Section 51 provided that:

The parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the commonwealth with respect to: … (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws.

The original Section 127 provided that:

In reckoning the numbers of the people of the commonwealth, or of a state or other part of the commonwealth, Aboriginal natives shall not be counted.

These provisions stopped the federal government making special laws with respect to Aboriginal people and counting them in the census. Views differ about why Section 51(xxvi) was included: some say it was to exempt Aborigines from the sort of discrimination applied to indentured immigrant labourers, while others think it was because Aborigines were at that time viewed as a dying race.

Section 127 is sometimes said to have been included because counting Aboriginal people was too difficult, but it may also have been to ensure that the indigenous population did not factor in the allocation of federal parliamentary seats and surplus commonwealth revenue.