Moree is located on the New South Wales and Queensland Border situated 647 kilometres north-west of Sydney and 444 kilometres south-west of Brisbane. Prior to the 1830's the Kamilaroi / Gamilaroi people lived extensively across the Moree Plains region. Moree is not an Aboriginal word. The area where Moree is situated was known to the Aboriginal people as the 'place of water holes and springs'. Moree takes its name from a property that was situated nearby in the 1800's. Other Aboriginal settlements around Moree include; Toomelah, Boomi, Ashley, Pallamallawa, Terry Hie Hie, Mungindi and Garah.

The Indigenous population of Moree can only be guessed, for there has never been a true and proper count. The majority of Aboriginal people live in Moree, with other substantial populations in the out lying areas. The Aboriginal villages situated in Moree are Stanley Village and Mehi Crescent. The village at Toomelah is 10km outside of Boggabilla. It is believed that the Indigenous population within Moree and its district is approximately 17%.

The Aboriginal community of Moree has been sadly neglected in the past when it came to documenting their history and is still trying to 'catch up' with other Aboriginal communities because of the colour bar that existed in the past; when those from the Aboriginal community of Moree were used to not being allowed to gain a proper education, to be able to enter the Town Hall, and other municipal buildings and public toilets. They became used to sitting down at the front in both cinema theatres and being hospitalized in what was called the McMaster Ward, a ward especially for Aboriginal people - at the back of the Moree District Hospital. They were not served in hotels, clubs (Aboriginal ex-servicemen were served Anzac Day at the RSL), certain cafe's and shops. The few clothing shops that did allow them to enter did not allow them to try on clothes. They were not allowed in hairdressers or barber shops, to rent houses in town or enter the Bore Baths. Very few worked in town for most of the work was acquired by the men in the sheds or doing property work with cattle and wheat. A few women worked in town as domestics in private homes and at hotels. The only place young women could look forward to a career was in nursing at the McMaster Ward. Only for work on the properties many Aboriginal families would not of survived. Those Aboriginal families who had a great rapport with the few property owners, and others, who supplied them with work through generations, still have strong friendships within their respected families today.

For many years the Aboriginal families lived in tin huts. Those living on the area that was know as 'The Common' saw mixed partnerships between Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal men. Because the men could not live with his Aboriginal partner on the reserve, they settled at the Common. The law forbade non-Aboriginal people to mix with Aborigines and the male partner could be fined and jailed for doing so. This saw only one partner at a time in town. If they were seen together the man would be charged for lodging with an Aborigine. The Common area was still lived on well into the 1980's.

For 45 years Aboriginal people lived in tin huts at the largest camp known as the 'Top Camp' in Moree. They moved into 27 houses built by the Aboriginal Welfare Board in 1967. The area was named Stanley Village after the well-known Aboriginal Ex-Serviceman, Mr Alexander Stanley, who served in World War I & II. Those from the Top Camp moved to Stanley Village because it was not a reserve and it did not have a Manager. Many of those who lived for so long at the 'Top Camp' (even though they could have moved into the houses with better living conditions at the reserve), refused, with respect to their ancestors who moved from Terry Hie Hie to save the children from being taken, and also, to get away from living under the rule of a Manager. Alcohol was prohibited to Aborigines and anyone found selling or giving alcohol could be charged. Aboriginal people themselves would be charged for sharing alcohol.

For many years it was not taken into consideration that the Aboriginal camps had no fresh running water, bathing or toilet facilities. The first houses built on the Moree Aboriginal  Reserve in 1935/36 had small outside water tanks and no bathroom. The houses that were built in the 1940's-1950's had laundries with built in coppers next to cement tubs where children were bathed. Scalding and death occurred when the children fell into the hot water, in the copper.

The colour bar carried through to death, as many Aboriginal people were laid to rest in what was recorded as the 'Dark Peoples Portion' and 'Aboriginal Section' of the Moree Cemetery.

Because of discrimination and many bans that existed, Moree was the subject of great criticism in 1965; and growing up here was a real and great challenge, if you were of Aboriginal descent. It was frightening as a child to know if you were coloured or lived in the Aboriginal community, the colour of your skin and where you lived determined you way of life and how you were treated in the town of Moree and its district.

Some people obtained 'Certificates of Exemption' (known as the Dog Licence). This freed them from the Aboriginal Protection Act. They could now provide food for their families and put a roof over their heads without help from the Government. They could take on work that was available to them without permission. However, little did they know that they signed away their Aboriginality because they could no longer visit relatives that were still on reserves and could not enjoy what the certificates offered. They were no better off in a town that did not recognise Aboriginal rights.

The sixties were a period of radical change and upheaval as people took up the struggle for causes around the world. It was here in Moree that the late Dr Charles Nelson Perkins, student from the Sydney University, first cut his teeth on Aboriginal politics in the sixties. In 1965, Moree often referred to then as 'Australia's Little Rock' saw Charles arrive with a bus full of fellow students. This group came to concetntrae on the most hurful form of social discrimination that existed against Aboriginal people in town. Their arrival raised an issue that had long been ignored, untouched or unaddressed - racism.

Their 'Freedom Ride' was not intent on bringing about racial tension but create a crisis of conscience that would help bring about the recognition that Aboriginal people did not share the same privileges and rights that other people had. It was common knowledge in that many did not accept Aboriginal people in the town. Moree was the only town that had a written municipal act banning Aboriginal people from municipal buildings and the baths.

Moree's reputation had been highlighted many times by the media that concentrated on negativity, which made news, and left an unwanted smear on the history of Moree. Although Moree had the largest population of Aborigines outside the metropolitan area, past concentration seems to have been mainly to fix up the 'Aborigines problems' and not Moree's on a whole. Governments seem to constantly fund areas, mainly housing that causes rifts within the Aboriginal communities. But truth is known both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities have been working for a common goal for many years behind the media scene. Moree is starting to make a difference through the many quiet achievers from both communities who have pride in their town. Positiveness and less negativity find many, who once lived with a sense of hopelessness, more aware of the changes they can help bring about.

This is not to say that all our town problems are fixed. One cannot paint a rosy picture and say that Moree does not need help, for there is still a long way to go yet. But one can say there has been social change as we strive for a more common goal that is for all and the better of the town.