In the history there has been always a conflict between two or more groups everywhere.

Those
problems could be religious, cultural, economical, political, racial, or of any kind of ideology.
Australia isn’t the exception, and there have been problems since the British arrived. The first and
maybe the most important is a racial problem between two groups that should be tied,it’s the
problem between ‘British’-Australians and aboriginal Australians

Prior to the freedom rides the Indigenous Australians experienced many things.
They were not counted as citizens and they were dispossessed of their land. They were forced to all
live together on small parts of land on the edge of towns. These places were called reserves and
missions. The living conditions of these places were atrocious. There was sub-standard housing,
with people living in shanties. There was no plumbing, no electricity and no amenities. Things were
extremely hard for Aboriginals on these reserves, and even harder in the towns there was
unbearable racism. Aboriginals did not have access to amenities, such as cafes, cinemas, theatres,
hotels and swimming pools; things we taken for granted today. Under the law Aborigines living on
reserves could not invite any non-resident, even a family member, into their home. Not only that,
but there was a lot of verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse, just because they were Aboriginal.

Charles Perkins was born at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Aboriginal Reserve in the Northern
Territory in 1936. His parents were Arrente and Kalkadoon people. He was removed from the
reserve when he was 10 and educated at St Francis House, a school established by a priest in
Adelaide to educate Aboriginal boys. He was away from his family, his heritage and his culture.
During his adolescence he suffered racial vilification, was ostracised and alienated socially and
generally was treated as a second-class citizen by his peers. Perkins' skill as a soccer player took
him out of this environment – but he still faced racial discrimination. One significant event that
influenced Charles Perkins to take his role in the freedom rides was he was not allowed to drink in
pubs with his soccer mates, he had to stand outside with his drink because he was aboriginal.

Originated from the The freedom rides for civil rides in Washington D.C May 1961. In Sydney
University Charles Perkins helped to form Student Action for Aborigines in 1964, and was elected
President. In February 1965, he led 29 students into the outback of New South Wales. Their
objective was similar to that of the American Freedom Riders: to expose embedded and entrenched
racism against Indigenous Australians, and to draw attention throughout Australia to their poor
living conditions. The students protested and demonstrated against racial segregation and
discrimination taking place in various locations such as town hotels, shops, cinemas, swimming
pools, RSL clubs and public parks. They often encountered hostile reactions from the local citizens,
and there were violent incidents. The 1964 and 1965 freedom rides were a significant event in the
history of civil rights for Indigenous Australians. Led by Charles Perkins and students ;The aim was
to raise the issues of Indigenous Affairs , give them the same rights as the 'white people' and for
them to be treated fairly.

The Freedom Riders gained wide media publicity throughout Australia and internationally, arousing
awareness of the plight of Indigenous Australians. Thanks to successful leadership by Charles
Perkins it was a triumphant movement. Two years later, in the national referendum of 1967, the
Australian people voted overwhelmingly in favour of removing individual state control over the
way Indigenous people were governed and treated, gradually leading to many much-needed reforms
at federal level.
It really helped aboriginal people gain control of how they should be living, not how the white man
wants him to live.