The record ‘yes’ vote in the 1967 referendum was a step forward for all Australians, says Canberra heritage consultant Lenore Coltheart.

‘The 1967 referendum resulted in the first constitutional change called for by the people, not by government,’ said Dr Coltheart. ‘It is an example of grass roots action over 10 years and remains an extraordinarily inspiring story. The thing it did for all Australians was make us see how to act on our own behalf, how to shape our own democracy.’

To trace the story of the referendum, Dr Coltheart has created an imaginary conversation titled ‘Campaigning in the Kitchen’ which she will present in a public lecture at the National Archives of Australia on 12 June.

Talking around the kitchen table are six women – Bessie Rischbieth, Ada Bromham, Pearl Gibbs, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), Jessie Street and Shirley Andrews – who were all active in the campaign.

‘The movement grew from people getting together in kitchens, in community halls and around camp fires, talking about how things could be changed,’ said Dr Coltheart. ‘The story really started long before the campaign was formally launched in 1957.’

‘Jessie Street first drafted the changes overwhelmingly approved at the Referendum – it makes her only the second woman ever to have shaped the Australian Constitution. The other was Queen Victoria, whose signature enacted our Constitution in 1900,’ said Dr Coltheart with a laugh.

‘Tracing what happened in the 10 year campaign for the referendum meant going back further and looking at the period between the wars,’ she said. ‘In effect Australian women, through the international organisations they belonged to, gave Aboriginal people a voice because the government refused to do so. In the 1920s and 1930s the League of Nations was the only place that was listening.’

‘The National Archives of Australia is a trove of treasures about this campaign and it is a rich source of material on the campaigners,’ said Dr Coltheart.

Dr Lenore Coltheart, ‘Campaigning in the Kitchen’ at the National Archives of Australia on 12 June 2007 at 6pm.