Margaret Lilardia Tucker
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(28 March 1904 – 23 August 1996) 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 ...
activist and writer who was among the first Aboriginal authors to publish an autobiography, in 1977.
Early life
Margaret Tucker was born at
Warrangesda Mission near
Narrandera
Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, and ...
to William Clements, a
Wiradjuri
The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, ...
man, and Theresa Clements, née Middleton, a member of the
Yorta Yorta
The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...
Nation. She spent her childhood at
Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve
Cummeragunja Reserve or Cummeragunja Station, alternatively spelt Coomeroogunja, Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja, was a settlement on the New South Wales side of the Murray River, on the Victorian border near Barmah. It was also refe ...
.
In 1917, aged 13, she was forcibly removed to the
Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls
The Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls, commonly known as "Bimbadeen" and Cootamundra Girls' Home, located at Cootamundra, New South Wales operated by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board from 1911 to 1968 to provi ...
, where she was badly treated.
After two years of training in white domestic practices, in 1919 she was sent to work for a white family in Sydney, where she was abused.
The
Aborigines Protection Board
Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
intervened and she was given another placement from which she ran away. In 1925 the Board released her and she moved to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Activism
In the 1930s Tucker began campaigning for Indigenous rights with
William Cooper William Cooper may refer to:
Business
*William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers
* William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman
*William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator
*Willi ...
,
Bill Onus
William Townsend Onus Jnr (15 November 1906 – 10 January 1968) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, designer, and showman, also known for his boomerang-throwing skills. He was father of artist Lin Onus.
Early life and educati ...
and
Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls, (9 December 1906 – 4 June 1988) was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering ...
and in 1932 was one of the founding members of the
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 ...
.
During this time she married and gave birth to a daughter,
Mollie
Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to:
Animals
* ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes
** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species
* A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid)
People
* Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...
.
[ At first influenced by the ]Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...
, she gravitated later towards the conservative Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was an international moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman headed MRA for 23 years until his death in 1961. In 2001, the movement was renamed Ini ...
movement.[ This deepened with an eight-month stay at ]Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...
. In the 1960s she founded the United Council of Aboriginal and Islander Women and in 1964 she was the first Indigenous appointee to the Victorian Aborigines Welfare Board.
Order of the British Empire
Tucker was awarded the MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in 1968, recognising her welfare services to Aboriginal Australians. Her 1977 autobiography ''If Everyone Cared'' was one of the first books to bring to light the mistreatment of her people.
Awards
Margaret Tucker was inducted in the Victorian Women's Honour Roll
The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the cele ...
, one of the first to receive the honour, in 2001.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Margaret
1904 births
1996 deaths
Australian autobiographers
Australian indigenous rights activists
Women human rights activists
Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire
Indigenous Australian writers
Members of the Stolen Generations
Wiradjuri
Women autobiographers
20th-century Australian women writers
20th-century Australian writers