Joseph Daniel McGinness (1914–2003), known as "Uncle Joe'", was an Aboriginal Australian activist and the first Aboriginal president of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI).

Early life and family

McGinness was born in 1914 in the Northern Territory to

Alngindabu Alngindabu, also known as Lucy McGinness, (1874? - 23 September 1961) was a female senior elder (almiyuk) from Chapana, near the Finniss River in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Lucy Mine was named after her, and her descendants includ ...

(also known as Lucy), a

Kungarakany The Kungarakany people, also spelt Koongurrukuñ, Kungarrakany, Kungarakan and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. They were called the "Paperbark People" by European settlers. Country Norman Tindale e ...

woman, and Stephen McGinness, an Irish prospector and operator of a tin mine. McGinness was baptised in his father's Catholic faith. The McGinnesses had five children; Joe's brother

Val McGinness Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a S ...

would also be an activist as well as a musician and sportsman. His sister,

Margaret Edwards Margaret Edwards (born 28 March 1939) is an English former competitive swimmer. Early life Edwards was born on 28 March 1939. Swimming career She represented Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a br ...

, was active in the

Council for Aboriginal Rights The Council for Aboriginal Rights (CAR) was founded in Melbourne in 1951 in order to improve rights for Indigenous Australians. Although based in the state of Victoria, it was a national organisation and its influence was felt throughout Austr ...

in Melbourne in the 1960s. Another brother, Jack McGinness, was also an activist, and the Northern Territory's and Australia's first elected

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

union leader in 1955 as president of

NAWU The North Australian Workers' Union (NAWU) was a trade union in the Northern Territory between 1927 and 1972. It was a publisher of a newsletter in Darwin, the '' Northern Standard''. The union was involved in Aboriginal Australians' working ...

. When their father died, McGinness, aged eight, and his siblings were taken into

Kahlin Compound Kahlin Compound was an institution for part- Aboriginal people in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia between 1913 and 1939. After 1924, "half-caste" children were separated from their parents and other adults and moved to an institut ...

for " half-caste" children in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

Career

McGinness served in Borneo in World War II, and upon his return worked on the docks in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, when he was active in the Waterside Workers' Federation. His experience in the union movement led him to political activism with the Cairns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League and later the

Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), founded in Adelaide, South Australia, as the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) on 16 February 1958, was a civil rights organisation whic ...

, later known as the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), of which he was president for around a decade. He visited Adelaide, in South Australia, several times, to liaise with activists such as John Moriarty. He worked on the campaign for the 1967 referendum regarding Aboriginal affairs in Australia. He was later manager of Aboriginal Hostels Limited for the northern region. He was also known as "Uncle Joe".

Honours

McGinness was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 1990 Australia Day Honours list for service to the Aboriginal community.

Early life and family

Career

Honours

Personal life

Publications

Works

References

Further reading