The film was also screened at Moree Secondary College on Wednesday.

Addressing the crowd, acting general manager of the Moree Plains Shire Council, Mitchell Johnson, said it was important for local children to see the film and learn about their history. 

Moree features prominently in the documentary, with scenes from demonstrations at the bore baths when the Freedom Riders tried to take local Aboriginal children in with them.

Some of those children were in attendance at the screening on Tuesday with their families. 

The documentary, released in 1993, was filmed by Rachel Perkins, the daughter of Charles, a leader of the Freedom Ride. 

It mixes archival footage with Mr Perkins’ recollection of events, as well as those of several people from Moree and Walgett. 

Among those interviewed were Lyall Munro Jnr, Edna Craigie and Bob Brown.

The latter was a white alderman and shop owner who tried to have the ban on Aboriginal people at the pool rescinded. 

There were murmurs of recognition among the crowd on Tuesday when familiar faces came on screen and laughter when Mr Brown recounted a story of how one of his colleagues in council warned him his sister could be impregnated by a black man if they swam in the same pool. 

In an interview with the Moree Champion which will be published in next week’s special publication, Rachel Perkins said the film was about informing Australians that segregation did formally exist as recently as the 1960s.  

“We know all about South Africa and the African/American experience, but we don’t know about what happened in Australia,” she said. “So the film was trying to bring that to people’s awareness so that they understood how people felt, on both sides.”