The Warburton Ranges Scandal

Following World War II, the Australian and British governments agreed to cooperate for the purposes of testing rockets and atomic bombs in a desert area of South Australia. Some of the Aboriginals in this area were removed before testing began to other parts of South Australia, and some to Western Australia. 

In late 1956 a Western Australian Parliament Select Committee tabled the results of an inquiry into the living conditions on the Aboriginal reserve in the Warburton Ranges. Christmas came and went. 


In January 1957 the Communist Party paper, the Tribune, continued its support of Aboriginals by reporting on the inquiry’s outrageous findings. East coast newspapers picked up the story and, as always, demanded positive action. 

In February, a South Australian newspaper published an equally outraged rebuttal, the journalist claiming the inquiry’s criticisms were grossly exaggerated. Further, the journalist claimed, white settlement had made life easier for the natives. At that stage, Australian television was only six months old, and newspapers were assumed to report whatever people needed to know.

A pamphlet rebutting the rebuttal was then widely distributed.

The inquiry into conditions in the Laverton-Warburton Range Area had been chaired by William Grayden. When the truth of the report was questioned in the press, Grayden returned to the area with cameras, inviting Pastor Doug Nicholls to accompany him. 

The resulting footage became a documentary titled Manslaughter and was shown not only on TV (which would have reached a very limited audience) but in public meetings around Australia.


Pastor Nicholls said "I wish I hadn't seen the pitiable squalor, the sights of my people starving - the most shocking sights I have ever seen. Never, never can I forget."


Just a few months later a petition was launched, demanding a referendum to change the constitution and make the federal government responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. The campaign for a referendum lasted ten years.