The last time a referendum was passed in Australia, Hotel California was on high rotation on the radio and the original Star Wars movie was still five months away.
It was May 1977 and Australians were being asked some straightforward questions about Senate casual vacancies, voting rights in the territories and the retirement age for judges.
Fast-forward to 2019 and the Morrison government is weighing up a referendum on recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution.
Can Scott Morrison and his Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt succeed where others have failed?
Despite there being bipartisan support for the concept of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia's birth certificate, what this "recognition" looks like is far from settled.
Labor has committed to working collaboratively with the coalition on the issue.
However, the opposition party wants an indigenous "voice" enshrined in the constitution as set out in the May 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Uluru statement read in part: "We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution."
Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull have described the constitutional "voice" idea as an unnecessary "third chamber of parliament", effectively relegating it to the prime ministerial dustbin.
Wyatt, the first indigenous man to hold the portfolio, has a less formal view on the "voice" proposal.
"It is a cry to all tiers of government to stop and listen to the voices of indigenous Australians at all levels," he says.
"All they want is for governments to hear their issues, stories and their matters associated with their land, their history. They're asking the three tiers of government to stop and take the time to listen to their voices."
Wyatt, who delivered a National Press Club speech in Canberra this week, argues the voice could be established without enshrining it in the constitution.
Labor senator Pat Dodson, a long-time champion of reconciliation, says political leaders have muddied the waters over the "voice" idea.
He argues it's a very simple concept - an advisory entity, enshrined in the constitution, whose advice is not subject to trial in a law court.
But Dodson says it must be followed by a treaty-making process - also proposed in the Uluru statement.
Australia lags other commonwealth nations in not signing a treaty with its indigenous people.
"You have to deal with the more substantial matters, the cause for the dispossession, and for the loss of culture and the loss of uniqueness of First Nations peoples," Dodson told the ABC this week.
"And the consequences of policies that have been perpetrated upon us over many years. That only comes through agreements."
Beyond the complexities of what the indigenous community want, Wyatt faces pressure from within the Liberal-National coalition.
Queensland LNP senator Amanda Stoker, a staunch critic of what she describes as "identity politics", says inserting "flowery" language in the constitution would not be helpful.
"If we think that putting words in the constitution is going to solve that diverse bag of really serious but practical problems, (we're) going to be really disappointed," she told 2GB radio this week.
Her colleague, Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, says as a matter of principle he has a problem with some Australians having a representative body enshrined in the constitution that they get to choose on the basis of their race.
"Ultimately our foundational document, our constitution, should be as free of race as possible, and should not seek to divide Australians according to their race."
Wyatt admits there are many challenges ahead of him, but takes comfort in knowing he won't be walking the dark desert highway alone.
"The sands of this nation bear footprints of the oldest living culture in the world. Those who come after them must leave their own tracks. It's up to us to choose where we make them and where they might lead."
Australian Associated Press
