The Brisbane Commonwealth Games were also noted by large-scale protests by the
Aboriginal rights movement in Australia, which brought to the centre of international media attention the lack of
Indigenous land rights in Australia, poor living condition and suppression of personal and political rights in Queensland in particular, and in Australia as a whole. One of the targets of the protests was Queensland's
Aborigines Act 1971, which restricted and controlled the lives of Aboriginal people in Queensland. There were large marches on 26 September (2,000 people), 20 September (1000), and a sit-in of 104 people on 4 October. Also on that day, around 20 spectators held
Aboriginal flags in the stadium during the entire program. On 7 October, about 500 people attended another protest, and 400 police arrested 260 people, including then Governor-General's daughter, Ann Stephen. The protests were all peaceful, but police came out in force and blocked roads, making arrests under Queensland's
Traffic Act. Activists taking part in the protests included
Gary Foley Ross Watson; and Selwyn Johnson and his family. Selwyn's brother Hedley Johnson was a musician, of the Brisbane group
Mop and the Dropouts. Their song, "Brisbane Blacks", written by Mop Conlon, became a kind of
anthem for the protests. Bob Weatherall, a
Kamilaroi elder, is a lifelong activist, a researcher in Aboriginal history, and musical collaborator with Brisbane band
Halfway The protests, which were followed by large-scale arrests, are a significant event in the history of the Australian Aboriginal rights movement. When the Commonwealth Games returned to Australia in
2018 at the Gold Coast, it drew a series of peaceful protests. The classic Australian film "Guniwaya Ngigu (We Fight)" documents the Aboriginal protest movement during the Commonwealth Games, and was directed by Madeline McGrady and
Tracey Moffatt, and produced by
Maureen Watson,
Tiga Bayles and Madeline McGrady. == Legacy ==