A unique memorial that has been years in the planning for Walgett can now begin to take shape.

The Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service (WAMS) has secured $474,607 in NSW Government grants to develop and construct a Freedom Ride Memorial Park on land they have secured and saved for the purpose.

In 1965, a group of students left Sydney and toured regional NSW on a bus to draw attention to injustice and discrimination against Aboriginal people.

Charles Perkins, one of just two Aboriginal students attending the University of Sydney at the time, was elected as President of the Student Action for Aborigines and he was among the leaders of the Freedom Ride.

The bus visited nine regional communities in fifteen days, including Gulargambone, Walgett and Collarenebri, attracting significant local, national and international attention.

On 15 February 1965, the Freedom Riders protested outside Walgett RSL Club because they had been told the club was not permitting entry for Aboriginal Ex-Servicemen.

They held signs that read: “Good enough for Tobruk - why not Walgett RSL?” and protested a womenswear store forbidding Aboriginal women from trying on dresses. Their presence was felt by the community and attempts were made to run the bus off the road as it left Walgett.

Dr Charles Perkins – fourth from left with some other members of the Freedom Ride. Image: Wikipedia Commons.

Lesser known is the involvement of local Aboriginal leaders in the Freedom Ride, including the late Harry Hall and Ted Fields.

Mr Hall's daughter Mrs Mary Purse is the current WAMS Chairperson and has been leading the memorial park project.

"We have been planning it for two years," said Mrs Purse. "It was an international event and we want to try to have it recognized for Walgett."

"We are thrilled to receive these grants from the NSW Government," she said. "The Walgett Freedom Ride Project will not only commemorate an important moment in our history, but it will also create an opportunity to showcase and celebrate Gamilaraay Culture."

Artwork depicting the 'Freedom Riders' and the history of events will be included in the construction of the park.

Landscaping will include fences, shelter, seating, paths and planting, including traditional native foods and bush medicine plants.

"We want to encourage the schools to come and look and it and learn, any everyone else," Mrs Purse said.

"They can wander in and have a look around."

"We're aiming for it to be a success," she said.

To gain global reach the park will have an associated website, designed to link to QR codes within the park itself.

An historian from the University of NSW, Nura Gili has been working with the WAMS, local community members who took part and their families, to research the local history around the Freedom Ride in Walgett.

The route taken by the Sydney University students on their Freedom Ride.

Other groups in Walgett have welcomed the project.

“The Freedom Ride really marked the start of things changing,” said Walgett Local Aboriginal Land Council member Anne Dennis.

“In 1967 we had the referendum. Then things started to change in the 1970’s because of people like Charles Perkins and other people involved in the Freedom Ride. Aboriginal people started protesting more. Land rights were granted, we were allowed to talk our language, practice our culture, embrace our identity. Land and sky connected” she said.

"There is a still long way to go," Mrs Dennis said "But I just think it shows that we all need to work together for things to change".

It is early days yet, with other groups to be involved as the project progresses.

The design process will see a graphic and narrative developed before construction can begin.

With weather and workforce availability permitting it is hoped to complete the project in 2024.

CORRECTION: This is a revised version of an earlier story on the Western Plains App that mistakenly referred to Mrs Anne Dennis as a Walgett Shire Councillor. Mrs Dennis is a councillor with the Local Aboriginal Land Council and represents the North Western region as one of nine councillors on the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

We apologise for any confusion this error may have caused.