The first Day of Mourning was a protest held by Indigenous Australians on January 26, 1938, on the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. 

This was held in the Australian Hall, Elizabeth Street, Sydney, organised by William Ferguson and Jack Patten after a meeting in November 1937 of leading Aboriginal activists, including Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls. 

The arrival of British sailor James Cook to our shores marked the start of the colonisation of Australia and this event was declared to be a protest of 150 years of callous treatment and the seizure of land from our First Nations people. 

Organised by the Aborigines Progressive Association, it purposefully coincided with the Australia Day celebrations held by the European-Australian population on the same day…