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.

'Hey History!' podcast wins gold at international Audio Awards

Congratulations to the Hey History! podcast team, with the podcast recently taking out the 2025 New York Festival's Radio Awards top honour in the Entertainment: Children/Young Adult Program category, for excellence in audio storytelling for younger audiences.

La Trobe's Professor of Public Engagement, Professor Clare Wright OAM serves as an Executive Producer of the Hey History! podcast.

“Winning this global award is significant recognition of the hunger for innovative history podcasts that can be used by both teachers and parents to enable kids’ own curiosity drive their understanding and engagement with the past," said Clare. "The fact that our 15 year-old host is a star also helps!”

Episodes 1-4 are hosted by high school student, Axel Clark, and in addition to her role as an executive producer, Clare co-hosted the final episode of season 1 alongside Professor Anna Clark, a historian at UTS's Australian Centre for Public History - leading a discussion about how to talk about history (and the podcast) with kids.

The podcast is created by UTS Impact Studios and produced by Anna Clark, Jane Curtis, Britta Jorgensen and Clare Wright, with support from La Trobe University and the National Museum of Australia. It has been designed to align with Stage 2 and 3 of the Australian primary school curriculum, Hey History! uses immersive sound design, original music, and diverse expert voices to help teachers navigate the complexities of Australian history. Contributors include archaeologists, historians, curators, and Indigenous knowledge holders.

The innovative series has been supported by the National Museum of Australia, whose Digital Classroom team provided access to key historical objects featured in the podcast — including a gold pan, convict love token, and Indigenous artefacts — helping to ground each episode in tangible and thought-provoking pieces of the past. “These objects really helped bring the stories to life,” said Executive Producer Sarah Gilbert. “They’re everyday things that carry complex histories. Having access to them through the National Museum of Australia allowed us to anchor the podcast in real, physical evidence — something that’s incredibly valuable for students learning how history is constructed.”

With more than 21,000 downloads, the first season of Hey History! has received enthusiastic feedback from educators across the country. The team is now exploring the possibility of a second season, and future content aimed at high school students, with a civics spin-off, Hey Democracy!, in the works.

The New York Festivals Radio Awards have been recognising the best in global audio storytelling since 1957. This year’s winners included major broadcasters and independent creators from around the world.

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.