On the Road to Justice: Remembering the Freedom Ride

Join us at Glebe Library to see an exhibition of historic photographs from the 1965 Freedom Ride.

See historic photographs of this defining moment in Australian history. The exhibition also features portraits of people who lived in the towns when the bus visited.

February 2025 marked the 60-year anniversary of a historic protest bus ride around NSW aimed at exposing systemic racism against Aboriginal people. 

Influenced by the Freedom Rides and civil rights movement in the United States, 29 students including Arrente/Kalkadoon man Charles Perkins, set off on a bus tour from the University of Sydney on 12 February 1965.  

The group visited 16 regional towns in 15 days, confronting the racism experienced by Aboriginal people including segregation and exclusion.

Photographs in the display are courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and the SEARCH Foundation. The photographs were taken by Noel Hazard, a journalist and photographer for The Tribune, the Communist Party of Australia’s newspaper.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware that photographs on this website and in this exhibition may contain images of deceased persons.

Find out more at the Sydney Barani website.

Image 1: Aboriginal men and children, photographed by Noel Hazard

Image 2: Freedom Ride protest bus, photographed by Noel Hazard

Image 3: Freedom Ride student protesters including Arrente/Kalkadoon man Charles Perkins, photographed by Noel Hazard

Credit: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, courtesy SEARCH Foundation