Asking Australia for an Indigenous voice isn’t new – it’s been a long and difficult struggle

Kevin Rudd’s apology was part of the long history that has led to Australia’s Indigenous voice referendum. Photograph: Stephan Postles/AAP

What can history show us about the significance of the referendum on 14 October? If “history is calling”, whose voices from the past can we hear?

In April, the Australian National University became one of the nation’s first universities to “unreservedly” declare its support for “enshrining an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in the constitution”. Keen to offer further support, historians and other prominent Australians have provided informed, trustworthy and easily accessible historical information online that would help Australians to understand the long journey to the 2023 referendum.