THE INAUGURATION OF THE NYOONGAR TENT EMBASSY

The Nyoongar Tent Embassy was established in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Canberra Tent Embassy’s inception on 26th January 1972. At the 40th Anniversary celebrations in Canberra, January 2012, at which several Nyoongar Tribal Sovereigns were in attendance, men’s and women’s meetings were held. The women were advised to start tent embassies in their communities to assert their sovereign rights and continue the sovereignty movement. 

On 8th February 2012, the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council and the WA Premier Colin Barnett staged a ‘Working Congress Party’ at Kings Park to communicate the State Government’s offer of settlement and extinguishment of Native Title claims in the South West. The Nyoongar Tent Embassy was inaugurated at Kings Park as part of the protests against the SWALSC deal. The following Sunday 12th February 2012, the Nyoongar Tent Embassy was formally established. Matagarup was chosen for the Embassy site due to its Aboriginal Heritage Register listing, therefore being a safe place for the Nyoongar Tribal Sovereign People. 

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Michael Anderson, Canberra Tent Embassy founder, visited the Nyoongar Tent Embassy at Matagarup in March 2012.