The 1967 referendum remains the most successful in the nation's history.
On May 27, more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to include Aboriginal people in the Census and allow the Commonwealth to create laws for them.
Prior to the poll, most aspects of Aboriginal peoples' lives were controlled by state governments, and their laws varied greatly.
That meant where an indigenous Australian lived determined whether they could own property, marry and move freely, drink alcohol and control their own children.
The referendum arose from lengthy advocacy, Reconciliation Australia Co-chair Professor Tom Calma says.
"It was 10 years in the making with a lot of awareness-raising," he told AAP.
In 1965 Charles Perkins led the Freedom Rides - a student tour of rural New South Wales - calling for an end to discrimination against indigenous people in many country towns.
It also came off the back of the 1966 Wave Hill Walk Off, where Aboriginal land rights champion Vincent Lingiari led 200 Gurindji people off a cattle station near Kalkarindji in the remote Top End to demand wages instead of basic food rations.
"People couldn't believe those things were happening, it was a catalyst," Prof Calma said.
The vote paved the way for the introduction of 'positive discrimination' or affirmative action and a number of important pieces of anti-discrimination and land rights laws.
It also allowed the gradual development of a new definition of 'Aboriginality' based on community and self-identification rather than just a person's genetics.
Contrary to popular belief it did not grant indigenous Australians citizenship or the right to vote, which they already had.
One of the government's first acts under its new power was to establish the Council for Aboriginal Affairs, which brought ministers from all states and territories together to discuss issues and recommend actions to the Commonwealth.
The groundbreaking referendum was a powerful symbol of recognition, but was the beginning of an unfinished journey to equality.
