Showing 43 items matching "aboriginal soldiers"
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Narre Warren and District Family History GroupBook, Niel Gunson, The Good Country : Cranbourne Shire, 1968
... Shire of Cranbourne This book provides a detailed history of the Cranbourne Shire, including information about early settlers, Aboriginal heritage, soldier settlements, and the development of towns and rail tracks. ...This book provides a detailed history of the Cranbourne Shire, including information about early settlers, Aboriginal heritage, soldier settlements, and the development of towns and rail tracks. The book also features photographs, maps, and appendices with shire statistics and historical records.non-fictionThis book provides a detailed history of the Cranbourne Shire, including information about early settlers, Aboriginal heritage, soldier settlements, and the development of towns and rail tracks. The book also features photographs, maps, and appendices with shire statistics and historical records.cranbourne (vic.), shire of cranbourne -
Returned Nurses RSL Sub-branchBook - Illustrated paperback book, Major Ian Finlayson, A brief history of the Australin Army: serving our nation, 2017
... Aboriginal resistance 1788-1920s -- Part 2. Colonial Security, the Sudan and the Bower War 1788-1902 -- Part 3. From Federation through the World Wars: 1901 - 1945 -- Part 4. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1945 - 1998 -- Part 5. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1999 - 2015 -- Part 6. History and traditions. [From Trove] Paperbook book with a black cover and spine. There is a black and white photo on the cover showing a group of five soldiers ...Part 1. European Settlement and the Aboriginal resistance 1788-1920s -- Part 2. Colonial Security, the Sudan and the Bower War 1788-1902 -- Part 3. From Federation through the World Wars: 1901 - 1945 -- Part 4. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1945 - 1998 -- Part 5. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1999 - 2015 -- Part 6. History and traditions. [From Trove]Paperbook book with a black cover and spine. There is a black and white photo on the cover showing a group of five soldiers resting in a bombed out street. The top panel of the cover has 'Army' in red text and a picture of the Australin Army emblem next to it.non-fictionPart 1. European Settlement and the Aboriginal resistance 1788-1920s -- Part 2. Colonial Security, the Sudan and the Bower War 1788-1902 -- Part 3. From Federation through the World Wars: 1901 - 1945 -- Part 4. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1945 - 1998 -- Part 5. War, Peacekeeping and community assistance 1999 - 2015 -- Part 6. History and traditions. [From Trove]australian army, australian army history, armed forces, military history, medals, insignia -
Tatura Irrigation & Wartime Camps MuseumFolder, Australian Military Forces, Australian Archives Brighton May 1991, revised May 1941
... soldiers cowra breakout shepparton news japanese internees On the green border - Australian Archives Brighton May 1991 Camp 4 Yasukichi and Terese Mupvakami and family internment camp records. Seven Australian military forces internee/POW service and casualty forms, overprinted Japanese in individual plastic envelopes, clear plastic cover with a green border and back cover. Also the last page has details of the first Australian POW taken by Japanese on Australia soil and the first Japanese POW on Melville Island and captured by the aboriginals ...The interesting records of Japanese civilian internees in Camp 4. The Rev Len Kentish, pilot Hajime Toyashima and take to Cowra where he became one of the ringleaders of the infamous breakout and died during the attempt and made available with the efforts of the Knee family with the cooperation of the Australian Archives, also Shepparton News cutting, Keith Esson, Alan Fitzgerald. Italian farming soldiers.Seven Australian military forces internee/POW service and casualty forms, overprinted Japanese in individual plastic envelopes, clear plastic cover with a green border and back cover. Also the last page has details of the first Australian POW taken by Japanese on Australia soil and the first Japanese POW on Melville Island and captured by the aboriginals, one of who spoke fluent Japanese.On the green border - Australian Archives Brighton May 1991 Camp 4 Yasukichi and Terese Mupvakami and family internment camp records.rev len kentish, hajime toyashima, cowra, camp 4, keith esson, alan fitzgerald, italian farming soldiers, cowra breakout, shepparton news, japanese internees -
Wangaratta RSL Sub BranchPostcard, 1917
... soldier William West (1268) of the 29 Infantry Battalion, 5th Pioneers Battalion. This collection of postcards, photographs and clippings were sent between William and his family and loved ones during the years he was on active service. See also 207 and 220. album photo album newspaper clippings postcard wwi australian flag boomerang throwing stick magpie currawong swastika Front: "A message to the absent one" Colour postcard featuring a poem, a map of Australia, a currawong or magpie, a swastika, an aboriginal man holding a boomerang or throwing stick. ...From the album of WWI soldier William West (1268) of the 29 Infantry Battalion, 5th Pioneers Battalion. This collection of postcards, photographs and clippings were sent between William and his family and loved ones during the years he was on active service. See also 207 and 220. Colour postcard featuring a poem, a map of Australia, a currawong or magpie, a swastika, an aboriginal man holding a boomerang or throwing stick. Handwritten message on back.Front: "A message to the absent one"album, photo album, newspaper clippings, postcard, wwi, australian flag, boomerang, throwing stick, magpie, currawong, swastika -
Lake Bolac & District Historical SocietyBlack and white photograph, "Narrapumelap", Wickliffe
... aboriginal meaning of Narrapumelap is a chain of waterholes. Begun in 1873 by John Dixon Wyselaskie and completed in 1878. The new owner in 1883 was Gerald Neville Buckley, son of Mr Mars Buckley, founder of Buckley and Nunn LTD, who 'enhanced' the building. The property was acquired for by the government in 1914 and later split up for Soldier...aboriginal meaning of Narrapumelap is a chain of waterholes. Begun in 1873 by John Dixon Wyselaskie and completed in 1878. The new owner in 1883 was Gerald Neville Buckley, son of Mr Mars Buckley, founder of Buckley and Nunn LTD, who 'enhanced' the building. The property was acquired for by the government in 1914 and later split up for Soldier ..."Narrapumelap" homestead, Wickliffe. The aboriginal meaning of Narrapumelap is a chain of waterholes. Begun in 1873 by John Dixon Wyselaskie and completed in 1878. The new owner in 1883 was Gerald Neville Buckley, son of Mr Mars Buckley, founder of Buckley and Nunn LTD, who 'enhanced' the building. The property was acquired for by the government in 1914 and later split up for Soldier Settlement.wickliffe, "narrapumelap, buckley, buckley and nunn, wyselaskie, soldier settlement -
Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for LanguagesBook, Public Record Office Victoria, From squatters to soldier settlement : using land records for research
... Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages 33 Saxon Street Brunswick melbourne Public Record Office Victoria public records research land records catalogues document reproductions A guide to accessing correspondence in Public Record Office Victoria's custody, with advice on accessing other records. From squatters to soldier ...A guide to accessing correspondence in Public Record Office Victoria's custody, with advice on accessing other records.document reproductionspublic record office victoria, public records, research, land records, catalogues -
Vision AustraliaDocument - Text, C.H. Nipper, Past and the Present 1866-1971 by C.H. Nipper - unordered extracts, 1960-71
... These are: Admittance of Aboriginal people (1/2 page) Blinded soldiers (5 pages) Blindness - causes and prevention (4 pages) Buildings and Land (Snippets) - gas - grant of crown land - heating - insurance - water Change of name (1 page) Deaf-Blind and the Multiple Handicapped (3 pages) Education (9 pages, 1 missing) Education extracts from various newspapers (2 pages) Employment: - Placement of blind people in employment (1 page) - Dairyman (4 pages) - Insurance brokerage as a profession of the blind by Fred C Tolstrup (3 pages) Fundraising (Snippets) - Coles Book Arcade - Sporting matches Kiosks for the Blind (1/2 page) Matilda Ann Aston (5 pages) Music (5 pages) Nursing (2 pages) Organ (Snippets) Ormond Hall (3 pages) Pensions (1/2 page) Rehabilitation Training centre (3 pages) Talking Book Library (1 1/2 pages) Welfare Services (3 1/2 pages)...Nipper Blind Soldiers Deaf-Blind Ormond Hall Fundraising RVIB Nursery Nellie Melba Alice McClelland Charles Halle Blinded Soldiers Bowling Club Talking books Employment Aboriginal and Torrens Strait Islander People Pensions Tilly Aston Fred C Tolstrup Charles Gatty Blindness Welfare Services Rehabilitation Education Buildings 2 page foreward and 17 page history Past and the Present 1866-1971 by C.H. ...When author C.H. Nipper created historical overview of the first 60 years of the RVIB, various topics were covered by an unordered series of pages on individual topics. These are: Admittance of Aboriginal people (1/2 page) Blinded soldiers (5 pages) Blindness - causes and prevention (4 pages) Buildings and Land (Snippets) - gas - grant of crown land - heating - insurance - water Change of name (1 page) Deaf-Blind and the Multiple Handicapped (3 pages) Education (9 pages, 1 missing) Education extracts from various newspapers (2 pages) Employment: - Placement of blind people in employment (1 page) - Dairyman (4 pages) - Insurance brokerage as a profession of the blind by Fred C Tolstrup (3 pages) Fundraising (Snippets) - Coles Book Arcade - Sporting matches Kiosks for the Blind (1/2 page) Matilda Ann Aston (5 pages) Music (5 pages) Nursing (2 pages) Organ (Snippets) Ormond Hall (3 pages) Pensions (1/2 page) Rehabilitation Training centre (3 pages) Talking Book Library (1 1/2 pages) Welfare Services (3 1/2 pages)2 page foreward and 17 page historyroyal victorian institute for the blind, c.h. nipper, blind soldiers, deaf-blind, ormond hall, fundraising, rvib nursery, nellie melba, alice mcclelland, charles halle, blinded soldiers bowling club, talking books, employment, aboriginal and torrens strait islander people, pensions, tilly aston, fred c tolstrup, charles gatty, blindness, welfare services, rehabilitation, education, buildings -
Federation University Art CollectionCeramic, Gladys Reynell et al, Blue Bowl By Osrey, 1923
... soldiers at Seale Hayne Neurological Hospital, Devon. In September 1919 Gladys Reynell came home in September due to her father's illness. She established the Reynella Pottery and became responsible for all stages of pottery production. Using a seasoned dump of buff-coloured clay from a well at nearby McLaren Vale Gladys Reynell built and fired her own kiln; threw simple, robust forms based on early European folk pottery; and decorated them with designs inspired by both Aboriginal art—one of the earliest to use this as a source. ...soldiers at Seale Hayne Neurological Hospital, Devon. In September 1919 Gladys Reynell came home in September due to her father's illness. She established the Reynella Pottery and became responsible for all stages of pottery production. Using a seasoned dump of buff-coloured clay from a well at nearby McLaren Vale Gladys Reynell built and fired her own kiln; threw simple, robust forms based on early European folk pottery; and decorated them with designs inspired by both Aboriginal art—one of the earliest to use this as a source. ...Gladys REYNELL (04/091881 - 16/11/1956) Born Glenelg, South Australia Gladys Reynell was South Australia's first studio potter and the first Australian artist to apply modernist principles to the crafts. For four years she worked from Ballarat. Osrey Pottery Ballarat operated between 1922 and 1926 by Gladys Reynell and George Osborne. The name of the pottery was an acronym formed from their surnames. Gladys Reynell, her sister Emily and brothers Rupert and Carew supported the war effort during World War One. Rupert Reynell was a neurologist who valued handicrafts in the rehabilitation of shell-shocked soldiers. He influenced Gladys and Margaret Rose (Rose) McPherson (later known as Margaret Preston) to learn pottery at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, London, in 1916. Next year a friend sent Gladys some Kangaroo Island clay which excited her: 'I thought then that it could be the most delightful thing on earth to make pots in Australia from virgin clay'. In 1918 Gladys and Rose began teaching pottery to soldiers at Seale Hayne Neurological Hospital, Devon. In September 1919 Gladys Reynell came home in September due to her father's illness. She established the Reynella Pottery and became responsible for all stages of pottery production. Using a seasoned dump of buff-coloured clay from a well at nearby McLaren Vale Gladys Reynell built and fired her own kiln; threw simple, robust forms based on early European folk pottery; and decorated them with designs inspired by both Aboriginal art—one of the earliest to use this as a source. Gladys Reynell decorated her earthenware pottery with the characteristic rich 'Reynella blue' slip. On 14 August 1922 at St Mary's Church, Edwardstown, Gladys married George Samuel Osborne, an ex-serviceman and gardener at Reynella; they had no children. Between 1922 and 1926 they set up Osrey Pottery In Ballarat. Gladys produced pottery for sale at fairs with George as her assistant. She would throw her pots in the street, causing a sensation. In 1926 George contracted lead poisoning from lead in the glazes. They moved to rural Curdievale where Gladys resumed painting and making woodcuts. From 1939 Gladys and George lived in Melbourne. In World War II she worked in the army pay corps, in the Taxation Office, and as a translator of French. Gladys died of cancer on 16 November 1956; her husband scattered her ashes at Reynella. Her ceramics, the work of one of Australia's earliest studio potters, have been avidly collected since the late 1960s and are in most major art galleries. Small blue glazed ceramic bowl incised around the top with a decorative frieze. Incised on the base "(Dam Clay) Ballarat 1923, Osrey"gladys reynell, osrey pottery, blue bowl, incised bowl, australian studio pottery, ceramics, native clay -
Wodonga & District Historical Society IncBook - The Australian Army - A Brief History, Austin, Brigadier M and Lever, Major Geoff, 2001
... Aboriginal resistance to settlement; through an examination of the service of colonial forces in the Sudan and Boer Wars; both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. It contains a detailed section explaining the history and traditions of the Australian Army including patches, badges, the slouch hat and the Rising Sun badge. A bound volume of 96 pages featuring an image of an Australian soldier ...A revised short history of the Australian Army beginning with Aboriginal resistance to settlement; through an examination of the service of colonial forces in the Sudan and Boer Wars; both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. It contains a detailed section explaining the history and traditions of the Australian Army including patches, badges, the slouch hat and the Rising Sun badge.A bound volume of 96 pages featuring an image of an Australian soldier carrying an injured child on the cover. This publication includes 11 maps in colour as well as black and white and colour illustrations.A revised short history of the Australian Army beginning with Aboriginal resistance to settlement; through an examination of the service of colonial forces in the Sudan and Boer Wars; both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. It contains a detailed section explaining the history and traditions of the Australian Army including patches, badges, the slouch hat and the Rising Sun badge.australian military, military history -
8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Regimental CollectionPhotograph - Remount section
... aboriginal On reverse " Remount Depo ( sic ) " and " Mr. J. Bell Box 5 Wangaratta " also in faint pencil " L - 1003 - 1 " and very faint ink stamp " M B Read Photographer 10 Mathews Pd Toorak Melbourne " Black and white photograph mounted on card of eight soldiers posed in front of building. ...Remount Section broke and prepared horses for Light Horse RegimentsRare photo of men of very small unitBlack and white photograph mounted on card of eight soldiers posed in front of building. The soldiers on either end of group are possibly indigenous men.On reverse " Remount Depo ( sic ) " and " Mr. J. Bell Box 5 Wangaratta " also in faint pencil " L - 1003 - 1 " and very faint ink stamp " M B Read Photographer 10 Mathews Pd Toorak Melbourne "military, horses, remount, world war one, wwi, aboriginal -
Ballarat Heritage ServicesDocument, Helen Doyle & Context Pty Ltd, Moyne Heritage Study Stage 2 Vol 2, 2006
... soldier settlement...Framlingham...lime burning...Atkinson’s Belfast Survey...Belfast...Killarney...Crossley...Aboriginal...Ballarat Heritage Services PO Box 2209 Bakery Hill Post Office goldfields Moyne Minhamite Port Fairy Mt Shadwell Mt Rouse Mt Napier Mt Eccles Tower Hill Dhauwurdwurrung Djabwurrung Giraiwurrung Caramut James Atkinson Special Survey William Rutledge Yangery Land selection act closer settlement soldier settlement Framlingham lime burning Atkinson’s Belfast Survey Belfast Killarney Crossley Aboriginal Protectorate Lake COndah Hexham Hexham Common School Koroit convent hurling mile posts Kirkstall Ballyhurst Dundonnell Curdievale Ballangeich Hawkesdale Irish Scottish Aborigines Tower Hill Cemetery St Brigid’s Catholic Church 141 page heritage study Moyne Heritage Study Stage 2 Vol 2 Document Helen Doyle & Context Pty Ltd ...141 page heritage studymoyne, minhamite, port fairy, mt shadwell, mt rouse, mt napier, mt eccles, tower hill, dhauwurdwurrung, djabwurrung, giraiwurrung, caramut, james atkinson, special survey, william rutledge, yangery, land selection act, closer settlement, soldier settlement, framlingham, lime burning, atkinson’s belfast survey, belfast, killarney, crossley, aboriginal protectorate, lake condah, hexham, hexham common school, koroit convent, hurling, mile posts, kirkstall, ballyhurst, dundonnell, curdievale, ballangeich, hawkesdale, irish, scottish, aborigines, tower hill cemetery, st brigid’s catholic church -
Ballarat Heritage ServicesPhotograph - Photograph - Colour, Former Lake Condah Aboriginal Mission, 17/04/2016
... Aboriginal people were forced off the Mission, some moving to Lake Tyers. The Gunditjmara protested against the Mission’s closure and many continued to reside in the buildings until the majority of the reserve land was handed over to the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the 1940s. ...Aboriginal people were forced off the Mission, some moving to Lake Tyers. The Gunditjmara protested against the Mission’s closure and many continued to reside in the buildings until the majority of the reserve land was handed over to the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the 1940s. ...The Lake Condah Mission site includes bluestone ruins and a reconstructed timber building, as well as the cemetery which were part of the original settlement. With European settlement in the 1830s came conflict. Gunditjmara people fought for their land during the Eumerella wars, which lasted more than 20 years. As this conflict drew to an end in the 1860s, many Aboriginal people were displaced and the Victorian government began to develop reserves to house them. Many Aboriginal people refused to move from their ancestral land and eventually the government agreed to build a mission at Lake Condah, close to some of the eel traps and within sight of Budj Bim (Mt Eccles). The mission opened in 1867. The Mission was formally closed in 1918, and Aboriginal people were forced off the Mission, some moving to Lake Tyers. The Gunditjmara protested against the Mission’s closure and many continued to reside in the buildings until the majority of the reserve land was handed over to the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the 1940s. The mission was destroyed by the government in the 1950s in an effort to force the integration of Gunditjmara people with the general community but the Gunditjmara people continued to live in the area and protect their heritage. The mission lands were returned to the Gunditjmara in 1987. Lake Condah Mission is a place with special meaning to the Gunditjmara community - as a community meeting place, an administrative centre, a symbol of political struggle and a link to family histories. As a result the Gunditjmara community do not want open public access to this site. Key Features of Interest Ruins of stone cottages and plot remains of buildings such as the church Reconstructed dormitory building (https://www.budjbim.com.au/visit/cultural-sites/lake-condah-mission/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz6j36ZvF-QIV8ZhmAh2tmA3qEAAYASAAEgLxrvD_BwE, accessed 2022)Colour photographs of the former Lake Condah Aboriginal Missionlake condah, lake condah aboriginal mission, aborigines, aboriginal, gunditjmara, eumerella wars -
Uniting Church Archives - Synod of VictoriaB&W photo of another photo or newspaper photograph of Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, Undated
... Aboriginal affairs. Nicholls attended the Day of Mourning protest for Aborigines held in Sydney on 26 January 1938, declaring: ‘after 150 years our people are still influenced and bossed by white people. I know we can proudly hold our own with others if given the chance’. When Cooper retired in November 1940 Nicholls became secretary of the AAL. On 2 June 1941 Nicholls enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces. He trained at Seymour and Bonegilla before being posted to the 29th Battalion. As Major Frank Corr’s batman, he was popular with other soldiers...Aboriginal affairs. Nicholls attended the Day of Mourning protest for Aborigines held in Sydney on 26 January 1938, declaring: ‘after 150 years our people are still influenced and bossed by white people. I know we can proudly hold our own with others if given the chance’. When Cooper retired in November 1940 Nicholls became secretary of the AAL. On 2 June 1941 Nicholls enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces. He trained at Seymour and Bonegilla before being posted to the 29th Battalion. As Major Frank Corr’s batman, he was popular with other soldiers ...Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls (1906-1988), footballer, pastor, activist and governor, was born on 9 December 1906 at Cummeragunja Aboriginal mission, New South Wales, fifth child of Herbert Nicholls, seasonal worker, and his wife Florence, née Atkinson. Doug grew up at Cummeragunja, on the Murray River near Barmah, in its golden years of Aboriginal autonomy. Thomas Shadrach James gave him and other Yorta Yorta children a sound primary education, reinforcing the pride and self-assurance gained from their parents. As Doug grew, so too did the powers of the State’s Aboriginal Protection Board. Doug’s elder sister Hilda was removed about 1915. When Doug reached 14, he was moved off under the Aborigines Protection Act (1909) to find work. He took a job with dredging teams constructing levees on the Murray. Like other youths in the region Nicholls played Australian rules football, emulating kinsmen who had won local premierships since the 1890s. Doug and his brother Herbert (‘Dowie’) played with Tongala in the mid-1920s. Melbourne football beckoned, Doug trying out unsuccessfully for Carlton in 1927. He signed with the Northcote Victorian Football Association team, despite his nervousness about his Aboriginality, and was given a job with Northcote City Council. ‘Dowie’ joined him for a season. Doug was short at 5 ft 2 ins (158 cm), but muscular and lightning fast. He competed regularly during a boom in professional running, winning many heat and place prizes. In 1929 he won the Nyah and Warracknabeal gifts, earning a sash and £100 in each, together with a case of cutlery in the latter. Using his speed on the wing for Northcote, he produced great spring and agility from his compact body. The Sporting Globe reported in 1929 that ‘he flashes through packs of big men, whisks around small men . . . and attempts marks at the back of any six-footer’. In front-on clashes he was flattened only to rise again. The sole Aborigine in the VFA, he was known affectionately as the ‘flying Abo’ but called worse by his opponents’ barrackers. He competed for five seasons, being named ‘best and fairest’ twice, appearing in three association grand finals and winning in 1929. Keen to earn more than a seasonal wage, in 1931 Nicholls accepted a three-year contract with Jimmy Sharman’s travelling boxing show. The bouts matched opposites, local against tent boxer, white against black, and sometimes men of different sizes. He faced stiff competition from those who wanted to best the noted Melbourne black footballer, the crowd adding racial abuse. A far better footballer than boxer, he copped some punishment. Fighting in the Melbourne Stadium in December 1931, he was described by Truth as ‘slow and awkward’, but packing a ‘good wallop’. In 1932 Sharman, who treated his boxers fairly, released Nicholls to join the Fitzroy Victorian Football League team, which agreed to employ him as its groundsman. He played fifty-four games for Fitzroy over six seasons until knee trouble forced him out in 1937. Winning cups in 1934 and 1935, he played alongside Haydn Bunton and Wilfred (‘Chicken’) Smallhorn. Grand finals eluded him but he represented Victoria twice. Following his mother’s death, Nicholls revisited the Church of Christ chapel in Northcote, where they had worshipped together. On 17 July 1932 he experienced a conversion. He was soon baptised and witnessed openly, leading his fellow footballers to occasional church parades. Nicholls exhibited leadership qualities. William Cooper, founder of the Australian Aborigines’ League and Nicholls’ Yorta Yorta kinsman and fellow Christian, encouraged the young footballer. In February 1935 Cooper, Nicholls and others lobbied Thomas Paterson, the Commonwealth minister for the interior, over the need for Federal control of Aboriginal affairs. Nicholls attended the Day of Mourning protest for Aborigines held in Sydney on 26 January 1938, declaring: ‘after 150 years our people are still influenced and bossed by white people. I know we can proudly hold our own with others if given the chance’. When Cooper retired in November 1940 Nicholls became secretary of the AAL. On 2 June 1941 Nicholls enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces. He trained at Seymour and Bonegilla before being posted to the 29th Battalion. As Major Frank Corr’s batman, he was popular with other soldiers who tolerated his preaching and Bible reading. His army service was brief, however, and he was discharged in Melbourne on compassionate grounds on 22 January 1942. His biographer claimed that the Fitzroy police requested his return to mediate in the racial tensions developing between servicemen and the mostly respectable Aboriginal families living in crowded and dilapidated Fitzroy housing; Aboriginal people maintain that they requested his release. Nicholls began welfare work and religious services from an Aboriginal home in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. In April 1942, ‘Dowie’ died of road accident trauma, leaving his wife, Gladys, née Bux, and three children. On 26 December 1942 at Moama Methodist Church, New South Wales, Nicholls married her, a caring gesture which developed into a loving partnership. In January 1943 he initiated ‘Aboriginal Sunday’, featuring a gum leaf orchestra and choir. By 1955 this service had moved to July and later evolved into National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week. Ordained a Churches of Christ pastor in 1945, Nicholls conducted a vigorous ministry from a chapel in Gore Street, Fitzroy. His work survived on donations, a small honorarium, and his employment as team coach (1947) and curator at the Northcote Football Ground. In the 1950s Gladys established grocery and opportunity shops to earn income and provide services. Their house soon overflowed with people in need or visitors to Melbourne. Nicholls also hosted inspiring African American visitors such as the pianist Winifred Attwell and the singer Harry Belafonte. His ministry extended to Aboriginal country communities. Gladys taught Sunday school, undertook endless fund-raising and welfare work beside her husband, and became his greatest supporter and financial manager. They formed an Aboriginal Girls’ Hostel in 1956, for which they acted as house parents, and bought holiday units for Aborigines at Queenscliff. Persistently advocating Aboriginal rights, Nicholls protested about the impact of the Woomera rocket range on the people of the Warburton Ranges, co-ordinated the production of a concert, Out of the Dark, scripted by Jean Campbell, to rectify the omission of Aborigines from Victoria’s Commonwealth jubilee celebrations, and criticised the Victorian Aboriginal Protection Board. In 1957 when the board was transformed into the Aborigines’ Welfare Board, he and Harold Blair were appointed as Aboriginal representatives. Maintaining the stance of a political moderate, he did not bear grudges and sought to build bridges between black and white. He co-operated with any group that aided the cause, including the Council of Aboriginal Rights, whose executive were members of the Communist Party of Australia. This association attracted the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, which in 1957 began to keep a file on Nicholls. In May 1957 Nicholls formed the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League with Doris Blackburn and Gordon Bryant, a Federal parliamentarian. As its paid field officer and spokesman, Nicholls contested assimilation policies and used film to raise awareness of issues. When the Welfare Board attempted to close Lake Tyers reserve, Gippsland, he resigned in disgust and led a protest march on parliament in May 1963. The AAL also petitioned the United Nations on land rights in June, perhaps the first indigenous body to do so. He argued for new premises at 58 Cunningham Street, Northcote, opened in 1966 as the ‘Doug Nicholls Centre’. In 1958 Nicholls was a foundation member of the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders after 1964), which he served as national field officer (1961) and Victorian secretary (1962-63). While an innovator in tactics, he was alarmed by the influence of confrontational ‘black power’ politics in the AAL and resigned as a director amid turmoil on this issue in 1969, claiming the concept was a ‘bitter word’, not needed in Australia. Similar tensions in FCAATSI led him to join with Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) in establishing the short-lived National Tribal Council as an alternative forum. As the AAL leadership moderated their stance, he returned as president (1969-74) of the new all-Aboriginal organisation. He was also a keen patron of the National Aboriginal Sports Foundation, founded in 1969. Many honours were conferred on Nicholls: he was appointed MBE (1957) and OBE (1968) and knighted (1972). In 1962 he was named Victorian ‘Father of the Year’ and the State’s second Aboriginal justice of the peace. Crowned Melbourne’s 1973 King of Moomba, he was declared Bapu Mamus (a Torres Strait term for ‘headman’) by the NTC. On 1 December 1976 Sir Douglas was appointed Governor of South Australia, but his health deteriorated within weeks, making it difficult for him to perform his official duties. In March 1977 he hosted Queen Elizabeth during her royal tour and was appointed KCVO. He relinquished his governorship on 30 April 1977 following a stroke. Ill health continued to dog him during retirement, but he played his Nelson Eddy records, enjoyed his expanding family, and when able, ministered to the Aboriginal Church at the League’s premises. Sir Douglas Nicholls died on 4 June 1988 at Mooroopna, predeceased (1981) by his wife and survived by his five children. He was given a state funeral and buried in tribal ground at Cummeragunja cemetery. Among the many tributes to him are an oval at Northcote, handed to the AAL in 1982, a Canberra suburb gazetted in 1991, and a fellowship for Indigenous leadership established in 2003, all in his name, and a statue of Sir Doug and Lady Nicholls by Louis Laumen, unveiled in 2007 in Parliament Gardens, Melbourne. Sir Douglas Nicholls is shown speaking at a microphone; head and shoulders; dressed in a suit.Pastor Douglas Nicholls
