ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the successful application of the genre of peaceful protest practised in various forms at several places like Oyster Cove and the Burragorang Valley. By 1972, Australian Aboriginal people had developed a form of political consciousness which embraced the idea of land rights, and had for the most part adopted protest as their means of political expression. The Aboriginal embassy of 1972 was the result of a decade of debate within the Aboriginal community over means and goals. The embassy remained a significant issue in Aboriginal and mainstream politics. It assumed a mythology of historical and political significance amongst Aboriginal people. Despite the fact that its central demand for land rights was only partially fulfilled by the Northern Territory Act of 1976, the longevity of the demand for the return of land in other areas and more generally for Aboriginal sovereignty indicates its pivotal significance in the history of contemporary Aboriginal politics.
