Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this recording contains names and words of deceased persons.
John Thomas 'Jack' Patten was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist.
The President and co-founder of the Aborigines Progressive Association, he was a brilliant speaker, one of the best of his era. In this role, Patten organised the 1938 Day of Mourning protest, and presented Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, with his and William Ferguson's manifesto, Aborigines Claim Citizenship Rights.
This is Jack Patten’s Opening address to the Day of Mourning protest, 26 January 1938, at Australia Hall in Sydney read by Mark Coles Smith.
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While we're offstage, we begin this new initiative by experimenting with non-fiction texts and poetry in Great Australian Speeches, recreating chilling ghost stories in a dramatic reading of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and will be exploring audio plays when we can return to the studio.
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This speech was recorded with permission from Jack Patten's family.
Published on 17 July 2020
