The One People of Australia League (often abbreviated OPAL) was an
Australian Aboriginal
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 I ...
political grouping in the 1960s and the 1970s. In contrast to the more radical and left-wing bodies advocating for
indigenous sovereignty
Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...
at the time, OPAL was for most of its existence overtly
assimilationist
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural assi ...
, advocating for the integration of Aboriginal Australians into mainstream white culture.
Its main focus was on welfare and housing and as it received monies from the Queensland government for its programs, the work of OPAL had both equal parts support and criticism for not being independent and operated by non-Indigenous organisers.
History
OPAL was founded by
white Australians including
Joyce Wilding and
Muriel Langford in 1961 in order to facilitate the integration of Aboriginal people in
Queensland
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, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
into a single "multicultural" society.
Conservative in outlook from the start, it declined to affiliate itself with the
(FCAATSI), with which it had significant ideological differences.
It also had a long standing rivalry with the
Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (QCAATSI), which it saw as subversive and
communist.
According to a 1969 profile in ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'', OPAL had a strong focus on Indigenous education, putting on homework classes and night schools to assist Aboriginal schoolchildren, children's art classes, and giving women sewing lessons. The organisation promoted racial integration, putting on concerts in which "European and Aboriginal entertainers perform side by side" and establishing a multiracial beauty pageant, Miss Queensland OPAL. It had a strong presence in
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
, where it had established a community hall. Two of the officeholders in Rockhampton were Catholic priests.
In 1972, ALP senator
Jim Keeffe described OPAL as a "government front" and accused Queensland's Department of Aboriginal and Island Affairs of interfering in state housing allocations in favour of OPAL members.
Notable members
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO (28 March 19225 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy ...
was president of OPAL from 1968 to 1974. He was appointed to the Senate in 1971, the first Indigenous Australian to serve in federal parliament.
His future Senate colleague
Margaret Reynolds
Margaret Reynolds (; born 19 July 1941) served as an Australian Labor Party Senator for Queensland from 1983 to 1999.
Reynolds had two ministerial appointments during her time in the Senate, serving as Minister for Local Government from Sep ...
was secretary of the
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
branch of OPAL. She helped established an OPAL-run kindergarten for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, together with
Bobbi Sykes
Roberta "Bobbi" Sykes (16 August 194314 November 2010) was an Australian poet and author. She was a lifelong campaigner for Indigenous land rights, as well as human rights and women's rights.
Early life and education
Born Roberta Barkley Patt ...
and
Eddie Mabo
Edward Koiki Mabo (''né'' Sambo; 29 June 1936 – 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision o ...
. Reynolds and Sykes were expelled from OPAL in 1967 for their perceived radicalism.
Housing program
In 1962, OPAL purchased a hostel in Melbourne Street, South Brisbane to provide short term accommodation for homeless Indigenous families, who had moved to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
. It was also a meeting place for Indigenous people. This hostel closed in 1985. In 1970, OPAL purchased a motel in Upper Mount Gravatt, to provide hostel accommodation and offer education and training. This is now known as the OPAL
Joyce Wilding hostel.
[{{Cite web, title=Joyce Wilding Hostel » ATSICHS Brisbane, url=https://atsichsbrisbane.org.au/human-services/joyce-wilding-hostel/, access-date=2020-09-14, website=atsichsbrisbane.org.au]
References
Indigenous Australian politics