The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

rights organisation in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

that was founded and run by

William Ferguson William Ferguson may refer to: Arts * William Ferguson (tenor), operatic tenor, see '' The Tempest'' * William Gouw Ferguson, Scottish painter of still life * Will Ferguson (born 1964), Canadian writer Sportspeople * Bill Ferguson (American foo ...

and

Jack Patten John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist. Biography John Patten was born in 1905 to John James Patten and Christina Mary Patten, née Middleton, at Cummeragunja Res ...

from 1937 to 1944, and was then revived from 1963 until around 1970 by Herbert Groves.

First incarnation

The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was established in 1937 by

and

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

. Ferguson led a group in the western part of the state, while Patten assembled an alliance of activists in the

north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. Both wings of the APA were involved in political organisation, rallies, and protests in both Aboriginal communities and reserves and major NSW centres such as

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In 1938 the APA organised the

Day of Mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

(26 January) of that year to protest the lack of basic

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

available to Aborigines. It was held at the

Australian Hall The Australian Hall is a heritage-listed community building located at 150-152 Elizabeth Street, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was the site of the Day ...

, Sydney. The APA was joined by the Melbourne-based

Australian Aborigines' League The Australian Aborigines' League was established in Melbourne, Australia, in 1933 by William Cooper and others, including Margaret Tucker, Eric Onus, Anna and Caleb Morgan, and Shadrach James (son of Thomas Shadrach James and brother-in-law of C ...

in staging the Day of Mourning to draw attention to the treatment of Aborigines and to demand full citizenship and equal rights. Ferguson, APA’s organising secretary, said of the planned national day of mourning: "The aborigines do not want protection... We have been protected for 150 years, and look what has become of us. Scientists have studied us and written books about us as though we were some strange curiosities, but they have not prevented us from contracting tuberculosis and other diseases, which have wiped us out in thousands." The APA was wound down in 1944.

Second incarnation

The APA was revived in 1963 by Herbert Stanley "Bert" Groves, who had in 1956 co-founded the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship (AAF) with

Pearl Gibbs Pearl Mary (Gambanyi) Gibbs (née Brown) (18 July 1901 – 28 April 1983) was an Indigenous Australian activist, and the most prominent female activist within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century. She was a member of the Aborigi ...

and others.PDF
/ref> Gibbs was also a co-founder of this APA, and other prominent people associated with it were Joyce Clague,

Dulcie Flower Dulcie is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Dulcie Cooper (1903–1981), Australian actress * Dulcie Deamer (1890–1972), Australian novelist, poet, journalist and actor * Dulcie Foo Fat (born 1946), British-born Canadian landsca ...

, Harriet Ellis, Ray Peckham,

Chicka Dixon Charles "Chicka" Dixon (5 May 1928 – 10 March 2010) was an Australian Aboriginal activist and leader. He was active in campaigns around the 1967 referendum and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, dedicating his life to the fight for basic human righ ...

and

Ken Brindle Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

. Groves strongly believed that Aboriginal people should control this new incarnation of the APA. From 1964 to 1970 the APA under Groves published a quarterly journal called ''Churinga'' as the official journal of the APA. is The journal, inspired by the 1938 journal ''

Abo Call ''The Australian Abo Call'', also known simply as ''Abo Call'', was the first Aboriginal-focused publication printed in Australia, with all issues published in 1938. History There was a total of six issues of ''The Australian Abo Call'', all p ...

'', was the inspiration for Churinga, aimed to inform non-Aboriginal people about issues such as Indigenous struggles for equal rights and

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

, as well as addressing the Aboriginal community in an effort to create solidarity and unity among the different groups. From December 1970 to February 1972 it was continued as '' Alchuringa'', published by Kevin Gilbert's short-lived Aboriginal National Theatre Foundation. Groves died on 28 December 1970, aged 63.

Footnotes

References

{{Indigenous Australians Organisations serving Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australian politics History of Indigenous Australians 1937 establishments in Australia

First incarnation

Second incarnation

See also

Footnotes

References