Learning in activism
Many of the lessons that were most useful for people learning through Tranby were about how to network and organise. This meant getting involved in the campaigns there were going on at the time – whether locally, in the city or the bush or overseas. Many leaders from the struggles for Independence in the Pacific or for an end to uranium mining in the Northern Territory, came to talk at Tranby. And Tranby always encouraged its students – and its staff – to take an active role in making change happen!
Tulladunna
Workers rights - The cotton fields at Wee Waa were the scene for a protest about exploitation of seasonal workers, dangerous work conditions, dispossession and police brutality.
Land + Heritage
The struggles for land and the protection of heritage were ones that were always high profile at Tranby.
Black Deaths in Custody
Much of the campaigning for an end to Black Deaths in Custody took place at Tranby.
Building alliances
Tranby encouraged alliances as a way to build strong, lasting networks of support.
Bicentennial
Aboriginal people challenged the government’s nationalist celebration and made 1988 into a celebration of Indigenous survival.
Nuclear-free independence
The campaign to end nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific was always linked for Aboriginal activists – just like the mining of uranium on Aboriginal land – with the struggle against colonialism. So a Nuclear Free Pacific was not enough – the real goal was Independence and an end to colonialism in the Pacific and in Australia.