Cummeragunja walk-off

The Cummeragunja Walk Off was a protest by Aboriginal people at Cummeragunja Station. On 4 February 1939 about 200 Yorta Yorta people walked off Cummeragunja Station in southern NSW. They were protesting against the poor living conditions and management of the station. They crossed the Murray River into northern Victoria and established a strike camp on the river bank at Barmah. The protest was led by Aboriginal activist Jack Patten. The strike camp lasted for nine months and eventually the mission manager was transferred. Some Yorta Yorta people returned to the station but many preferred to remain in Victoria. Jack Patten addressed a further impromptu meeting two days later, after which he and his brother were arrested and charged with "enticing Aborigines to leave a reserve". Jack Patten was Aboriginal himself. Patten's arrested spurred a further walk-off of residents, who collected their belongings and began leaving in groups, many of which crossed the Murray River into Victorian jurisdiction and set up camp on the riverbanks near Barmah.
The Cummeragunja Walk Off has been described as the first ever mass strike of Aboriginal people in Australia.