On Wednesday afternoon buses containing 28 of the next generation of freedom riders and about a dozen of the original riders from 1965 arrived in Dubbo to chants of "freedom" .

It was the first stop in a four-day re-enactment to mark the 50th anniversary of the ride that was led by Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins and Bill Ford, who had been inspired by the American freedom riders.

Australia's Freedom Ride helped bring about a resounding yes vote in the 1967 referendum, which included Aboriginal people in the Census for the first time and allowed the government to make policies providing for better health and education.

When original freedom rider Robyn Iredale stepped off the Freedom Bus - or modern coach with airconditioning and seat belts as it is today - Dubbo women rushed to shake her hand. Others chanted "freedom" and said it was a day of celebration and partying. Singers Paul Kelly and Troy Cassar-Daley performed at a free concert on Wednesday night to mark the occasion.

During the day new songs were sung, original poems were recited, but perhaps the most moving aspect was the welcome to country sung by a local Aboriginal woman, Diane Riley-McNaboe. "Years ago I would have been locked up for singing in my language," she said.

Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson's welcome was interrupted by schoolchildren at the local swiming pool. It was only fitting, he said, noting that the pool was open to all races these days, black and white, in contrast to when the Freedom Riders exposed bans prohibiting Aboriginal people from swimmming in local pools.

Some of the original Freedom Riders, now in their 70s and 80s, were swamped in emotional and vigorous embraces by local Aborigines.

"They wanted to shake my hand - there were tears in the eyes - and say thank you," said Mrs Iredale. It was a big difference from the greeting they got in 1965 when they were called a bunch of ratbags who were urged to go back to where they had come from.

At the local high school, where record numbers of indigenous students are finishing high school, Kelly performed a range of songs, including From Little Things Big Things Grow,  his tribute to Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji people's struggle for land rights. Cassar-Daly visited the Orana Juvenile facility where most of the young men are indigenous. 

She remembers being horrifed when another young Freedom Rider said he was willing to die for the cause.

"And I thought, 'I'm not!' That's how committed some people were." When the Freedom bus was run off the road the next day outside Walgett, she was afraid that could happen. "It got pretty scary. It is just as well Australians don't usually carry guns," she said.

Fellow traveller Pat Healy said the experience prompted her to get more serious about politics and join the Communist Party. She remembers being absolutely shocked by the poverty and appalled by the ignorance and prejudice. A young Aboriginal woman wasn't allowed to try on a dress before she bought it. "Once you started seeing the harsh reality, it was hard not to get emotionally involved," she said.

For Alan Outhred, another original Freedom Rider, the direct action at Walgett RSL, where a brawl broke out over its refusal to admit Aborigines, gave him a taste for the power of direct action. He went on to lead campaigns against Vietnam and conscription. While big improvements have been made, he warned that many of today's problems were invisible and harder to change. While much had changed, much racial discrimination of today was buried, subtle and harder to combat.

The next generation has as much zeal as the old, though. Marley Benz, a young social work student, said she hoped this trip would bring awareness of "how far we have come and how far we still have to go".