Current Projects

Yirrkala Bark Petitions

As part of her ongoing writing on the histories of Australian democracy, Clare has been researching the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, the first formal petition presented to the Australian Parliament on Aboriginal Land Rights.

There has long been debate about how many of these petitions exist, but through her research Clare was able to confirm the existence of a fourth petition and track down its location.

For the last 29 years, the fourth petition was hanging on the wall of Joan McKie, the first wife Stan Davey, who worked as the secretary of the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement when the petitions were put to parliament.
In November 2022, the missing petition was moved from Joan’s wall and there was a moving handback ceremony to return the document to a group of Yolŋu descendants of the original signatories and artists, including the daughter of the sole surviving signatory to the petitions. It then underwent conservation work in Adelaide before it was ready to return home.

In December of 2023, the fourth Bark Petition was finally returned in a community ceremony (buŋgul) roughly 60 years since it left Yirrkala. Schoolchildren were told the story of the petition, whilst standing under the trees that had shaded the elders as they painted the original bark paintings for the petitions. The petition was danced and sung into prime position at the famed Arnhem Land gallery, Buku-Larnŋgay Mulka.                 

These petitions are an important part of the story of democracy in Australia. They were the first petition ever received by the Australian Federal parliament in an Australian language and led to the passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the first legislation that enabled First Nations people to claim ownership of their land.

A Monument of One’s Own

It’s time to smash the bronze ceiling.

A Monument of One’s Own is a NFP community campaign for statue equality started by Professor Clare Wright and Kristine Ziwica with an aim to achieve monumental change, one statue at a time.

Currently Australia has more statues of animals than of women and in Melbourne, only 15 % of Melbourne’s statures are of historical women, standing alone. 90 % are non-Indigenous.

The team had a major success in 2022 when it was confirmed that artist Jennifer Mann had been selected to create a statue of labour activist Zelda D’Aprano to be located at Victorian Trades Hall Council. The statue was partially funded by A Monument of One’s Own with support from the Victorian Government.

Then in May 2023, the bronze figure of Zelda D’Aprano was revealed, protest chain in hand with a sign that reads: No more male & female rates. One rate only. Unveiling the statue herself former prime minster Julia Gillard reiterated the core mission of A Monument of One’s Own ‘“Women should not be consigned to anonymous footnotes. They must be proudly and permanently celebrated.”’

The project continues to advocate for more statues of women across the country, including artist Ellis Rowan. Clare has recently chaired an independent panel to select the subject for the statue out of 185 nominated inspiring Victorian women. It has now been announced that Vida Goldstein, the first woman to run for Australian parliament, will be the first of three works of women to be commissioned by the City of Melbourne. With a planned unveiling date in 2025, this statue will be another success for statue equality and the mission of A Monument of One’s Own.