The AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION (APA), led by Fred Maynard, operated in Sydney from 1924 to 1927 when it was disbanded due to police harassment. In 1932 in Victoria, William Cooper, Bill Onus and Ebenezer Lovett formed the Australian Aborigines Advancement League which sent a petition to King George V calling for special electorates for Aborigines. Inspired by Cooper's League, William Ferguson organised the inaugural meeting of the New South Wales branch of the ABORIGINES PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION in Sydney in 1937. The APA, led by Ferguson and Jack Patten, planned the 1938 "Day of Mourning Conference and Protest" in Sydney, where the Committee for Aboriginal Citizenship Rights was formed. This operated until 1944. The three aims of the APA were full citizenship rights for Aborigines, Aboriginal representation in Parliament and the abolition of the NSW Aborigines Protection Board. From March 1938, the Australian Abo Call: the voice of the Aborigine was published as the official journal of the APA.

The ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIAN FELLOWSHIP (AAF) functioned from 1956 to 1969, supported by a new generation of activists and supporters such as Pearl Gibbs, Joyce Clague and Faith Bandler. It stood for the principle that Aborigines in New South Wales deserved equality, and fought to have Managers abolished from stations. In 1960, the AAF called for full citizenship rights for Aborigines.

Growing out of the AAF, the FOUNDATION FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS was located in the old 2UW Theatre in George Street and was commonly known as "the Foundation". It sought to advance the Aboriginal cause by promoting cultural skills in music and dance as well as by political means. It became a focus for Indigenous social life, a modern day meeting place. The Foundation nurtured many bands and artists including The Silver Lining, Black Lace, Jimmy Little, Col Hardy, Candy Williams and Max Silva.

Activists such as Paul Coe and Gary Foley emerged from the Foundation. The ‘Vote Yes’ campaign was launched in the Hall of Foundation on Sunday 2 April 1957. In the same year, the AAF organised a meeting at Sydney Town Hall to promote their campaign for a referendum to change the Australian Constitution to give the Federal Government the power to legislate for Aboriginal people .

Joe McGuiness, a Sydney waterside worker, became the organisation’s first Aboriginal President from 1961 to 1966. In the lead-up to the 1967 referendum, FCAATSI pushed for equal pay for Aborigines and supported their Gurindji brothers and sisters when, in August 1966, they sought better pay by walking off Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory (where it was an offence to pay award wages to Aborigines).

FCAATSI worked for equal wages for equal work, rights for Aborigines to own and manage their reserves and for an end to social, economic and political discrimination. They also sought international support for their land rights campaign. FCAATSI opposed all forms of mining on Aboriginal land and considered the principle of a republic for Australia.

Supported by people like Pat O'Shane, Marcia Langton and Evelyn Scott and many well-known Aboriginal residents of Sydney, FCAATSI also pushed for a policy of free but compulsory education for detribalised people.

TRANBY ABORIGINAL COLLEGE is owned and managed by Aborigines and is a community-based non-profit organisation, providing an alternative independent learning environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Established in 1957 in the inner Sydney suburb of Glebe, Tranby's parent body is the CO-OPERATIVE FOR ABORIGINES LTD (formerly the ABM Christian Community Co-operative). The Cooperative was formed under the auspices of an Anglican priest, Reverend Alf Clint, who had been working with Indigenous communities in northern Australia since the early 1950s. With the gift of the heritage property "Tranby" in 1957, the Co-operative began to develop courses for adult Indigenous students. The Hon. G.A. Kelly, Chief Secretary of NSW and the Minister of Co-operative Societies, officially opened Tranby on February 23, 1959. In 1962 it became fully independent and remains so today.

In the early years of operation, particularly between 1961 and 1962, many students were assisted by scholarships funded by unions, churches, the Sydney City Council and the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. These enabled them to be trained in trades, office work, store management and media.

Tranby was the focus for much political activity leading up to the 1967 Referendum, including the Vote "Yes" Celebrations on 9th June 1967, and the International Co-operative Day on 14th August in the same year. In 1973 the College organised a seminar to alert Federal and State Members of Parliament to the need for Indigenous input into their work.

In 1981 Kevin Cook became the first Aboriginal General Secretary of Tranby, followed by Jack Beetson as Executive Director in 1998. The Co-operative developed affiliate organisations such as Blackbooks (formerly the Centre for Black Books, 1982), the Aboriginal Development Unit (1986) and the Aboriginal Homeless Persons Hostel (1982), while continuing to be pro-active in the Land Rights Movement and the push towards the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Tranby now runs a Diploma of National Indigenous Legal Studies, an Advanced Diploma of Applied Aboriginal Studies (for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) and the Diploma of Development Studies - Aboriginal Communities, and all courses are accredited by the NSW Vocation, Education and Training Accreditation Board. The first students at Tranby were residential, but block release (short intensive revision courses) is now the common format for correspondence students who live outside Sydney. In 1998, the College was reconfigured and the buildings now reflect the philosophy of the Aboriginal "learning circle" with round rooms surrounding an amphitheatre/courtyard.

The METROPOLITAN LOCAL ABORIGINAL LAND COUNCIL is currently situated at Australian Hall, 150-152 Elizabeth Street in Sydney, the heritage-listed site of the 1938 Day of Mourning Conference. In 1973, the Council was established at the Black Theatre, in the suburb of Waterloo. Founding members included Allen Madden, Jenny Munro and Sol Bellear. After conservation, the Australian Hall will house the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, the National Aboriginal History and Heritage Council, a barrister's chamber, museum and a nightclub owned by the Redfern All Blacks Football Team.

Originally established as the Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (AISDS) in 1975, the NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND ISLANDER SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (NAISDA) grew from the visions of several young Sydney-based Aboriginal people for a centre where Indigenous people could develop and express themselves through dance. Today, NAISDA claims a number of 'firsts' in performing arts and education. The Association was the first tertiary dance institution established in NSW; the first performing arts and training institution catering to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation to be granted Diploma status accreditation in dance and related performing arts skills.

(© NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc)

The JUMBANNA CENTRE is located at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Established by two former Aboriginal students, it is a meeting place for students and staff and provides specialist advice and services including a resource library, computer facilities, and tutorial assistance and counselling. Such support assists Indigenous students to participate in a variety of higher education courses.

Like the Jumbanna Centre at UTS, the KOORI CENTRE at the University of Sydney provides programs, services and facilities to encourage and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the university. The Koori Centre facilitates the teaching of Aboriginal studies and supports research in the field of Aboriginal education.

Established in June 1982, BLACKBOOKS is an initiative of Tranby Aboriginal College and is located in the College complex in Mansfield Street, Glebe. At present, it is the only distributor and retail outlet owned and controlled by Aboriginal people. Blackbooks carries an extensive range of resources including books, tapes and CDs, flags, posters and arts and crafts. Their annual catalogue lists books specifically by Aboriginal authors.

The COMMITTEE TO DEFEND BLACK RIGHTS was established in Sydney in 1984 by concerned Aboriginal people and their supporters in response to the events surrounding the death in prison of 16-year-old John Pat from Roebourne in Western Australia. The Committee has maintained an ongoing campaign against black deaths in custody with public forums, rallies, pickets and newsletters. In 1986 the Committee held film nights at Tranby Aboriginal Cooperative College and covered a wide range of Aboriginal issues, acting as a way of educating the general public. The Black Deaths in Custody Watch Committee met at Trades Hall in Goulburn Street for many years and in 2000 moved to Parramatta.

BOOMALLI ABORIGINAL ARTISTS COOPERATIVE was formed in 1987 by a group of artists based in Sydney. Boomalli, meaning "to strike, to make a mark", is a language word from at least three nations - Bundjalung, Gamileroi and Wiradjuri. Exhibitions held by the members of the organisation have left their artistic, cultural and political marks on the city of Sydney and all those who have experienced them.

Boomalli provides a community art gallery for the display of Aboriginal works of art and promotes Aboriginal culture and independence through the visual arts and film. They devote much space to contemporary and urban artworks and the organisation continues to act as an advisory and referral service, facilitating residencies (locally, nationally and internationally) and assisting members to enter exhibitions outside Boomalli. The Cooperative has relocated a number of times, but always maintained its presence within the city of Sydney, while remaining accessible to its Aboriginal community.

The Association was a collection of organisations active in the Aboriginal movement generally and included Tranby Aboriginal College (Kevin Cook as Secretary), the National Unions Coalition, Young Labor, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, the Australian National Women's Rock Institute, 2JJJ and 2MMM.

The main function of the Association was to organise a series of concerts (often with a large non-Indigenous audience) and the "Building Bridges" concert at Bondi Pavilion on 24 January 1988 was the first. It featured musicians such as Yothu Yindi, Midnight Oil, Scrap Metal, Crowded House, Coloured Stone, Mixed Relations, Kev Carmody, Archie Roach, Toni Janke, the band Weddings, Parties, Anything and guest speaker Gary Foley. "Rock for Land Rights" concerts followed in 1990.

A Building Bridges album was 47 'with a bullet' in the national charts in March 1989. In 1990 the Association received a Certificate of Commendation in the Human Rights Awards.

In 1989 BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE AUSTRALIA Ltd was formed in Sydney and has trained at the Walsh Bay wharf complex near Sydney Harbour Bridge since 1997. The company uses dance, music and song to entertain and educate audiences all round the world. Bangarra has received national and international recognition for their contemporary style of performance using traditional forms of dance from remote areas like Yirrkala in Arnhem Land in northern Australia.

Established in 1990, SYDNEY ABORIGINAL DISCOVERIES is a tourist attraction that is operated by Sydney-based Aboriginal entrepreneurs, Margret Campbell and Dallas Dodd. It includes a tour called "Cadi Warrane" (Sydney's Gathering Place) beginning with a walk along the uncharted cultural map of Cadigal country, teaching about the saltwater lifestyle and songline concept. There is also an explanation of the Aboriginal Creation of particular features in the area, and a look at native coastal vegetation, including, of course, a taste of local "bush tucker".

Aboriginal guides, Margret Campbell and Dallas Dodd, of Sydney Aboriginal Discoveries, invite visitors to explore Sydney’s Aboriginal past and present. (Sydney Aboriginal Discoveries at abtours@abtrade.com.au)

Sydney-based NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ARTS ADVOCACY ASSOCIATION (NIAAA) is a national cultural service and advocacy association working for ongoing and increased recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous artists. NIAAA also provides culturally appropriate advice, information, referrals and support services to Indigenous artists and organisations.

NIAAA produces resources advising on computer-generated artwork and copyright, reproduction of artwork, Indigenous dances and issues of cultural and intellectual property. The organisation is concerned about the number of non-Indigenous artists, writers, and performers that have been incorporating Indigenous Australian cultural expression into their works. In 1999 they released the "Label of Authenticity" to assist in the protection of Aboriginal cultural and intellectual property.

ABORIGINAL NATIONS is an animation studio in Chippendale on the fringe of the CBD. Its core activity is to produce works of cultural significance via the medium of animated film. The organisation has trained over 40 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in the techniques of traditional and computer assisted animation, many working on a 13 episode series called "The Dreaming".

GADIGAL INFORMATION SERVICES (GIS) moved from Cleveland St Chippendale to the old Marrickville Hospital in 1999. It is a community-based media / arts and information service incorporated in July 1994 as a reaction to years of mainstream media portraying Indigenous Australia through negative stereotypes. GIS is the home of KOORI RADIO which grew out of Radio Redfern, with air-time on Radio Skid Row. Kori Radio has diverse programming that takes in other marginalised Indigenous groups in Sydney such as Torres Strait Islanders, Pacific Islanders and the East Timorese. The organisation supports all art forms including visual arts, theatre, music, multi-media and literature.

	(© Gadigal Information Services Aboriginal Corporation.)
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The organisation grew primarily out of the campaign to save Australian Hall, the 1938 "Day of Mourning and Protest" site at 150-152 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. After a hard six-year struggle, the site is now a Heritage-listed building and was purchased through the Commonwealth Indigenous Land Fund and placed in a Trust to the Sydney Metropolitan Aboriginal Association, managed by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.

NAHHC has a wide-ranging charter offering support for the development of research and cultural projects, with volunteers running an information and resources centre dealing with all aspects of Aboriginal history and heritage. The NAHHC continues to campaign for the protection of Aboriginal sites and places considered "at risk", and has representatives on the National Parks and Wildlife Service Heritage Committee and the History Council of New South Wales, the peak history body in the State.

Redfern, sitting on the fringes of the City of Sydney, is the oldest surviving urban Aboriginal community in Australia. Within this small inner suburb there are a number of Aboriginal organisations that complement and supplement the work of organisations in the heart of the city. These organisations include the first Aboriginal Medical, Legal, Housing, and Child Care Services, as well as the home of the Black Theatre Company and the Eora Centre.