The Aboriginal Housing Company

The Aboriginal Housing Company (AHC) is formed based on the Block. (The Block is bounded by Lawson Street, Vine Street, Louis Street and Eveleigh Street.) Among the founders is Bob Bellear. A group of campaigners lobbies the Whitlam government to transfer ownership of The Block in Redfern to the Aboriginal housing Company. The grant facilitated by Whitlam allows the AHC to purchase and restore a group of six terrace houses. This is claimed to be the first instance of urban land rights in Australia. The AHC’s aim is to purchase all 68 houses on The Block to be renovated and rented by Koori people for Koori people. The plan is opposed by 226 residents of South Sydney who sign a petition, ‘We the undersigned residents of South Sydney vociferously protest, object and condemn the establishment of the ghetto in Louis and Caroline Streets by the Aboriginals who have squatted in these properties … we want the Aboriginal ghetto stopped now – for if allowed to continue it will spread like the plague throughout the entire South Sydney area.’ This group is called the South Sydney Residents Protection Movement. ) (V 37, ‘It’s time to end this vicious cycle of racism’)