Anthony Martin Fernando (6 April 1864 – 9 January 1949) was an early
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 ...
toymaker and early
political activist
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
.
Biography
Fernando was born in
Woolloomooloo, New South Wales
Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is in ...
as a member of the
Dharug nation.
He spent most of his life in "self-imposed" exile, overseas, protesting and publicising the injustices inflicted upon himself, his people, and Aboriginal Australians generally:
[Paisley, Fiona "Into self-imposed exile" ''Griffith REVIEW'' Edition 6: Our Global Face](_blank)
Accessed 30 May 2010.
...'his long grey beard damp with mist, his frail elderly frame wrapped in a large overcoat'. Pinned to his coat were scores of small, white, toy skeletons and he wore a placard proclaiming: 'This is all Australia has left of my people'
Accessed 30 May 2010.
He died in the
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
town of
Ilford on 9 January 1949.
On-line newspaper articles
*
*
*
Steve Meacham, "Aboriginal activist campaigned in Europe 100 years ago", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', May 27, 2012.
External links
small>Accessed 30 May 2010.
"Fernando's Ghost" - Transcript, SOVEREIGN UNION - National Unity Government, "Sovereign Union" - Asserting Aboriginal Sovereignty into Governance.Accessed 30 May 2010.
* [http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/from_little_things_big_things_grow/exhibition_highlights/ National Museum of Australia "From Little Things Big Things Grow: Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920–1970" Exhibition – including artist's impression of Anthony Martin Fernando]
Accessed 30 May 2010.
Paisley, Fiona "Into self-imposed exile" ''Griffith REVIEW'' Edition 6: Our Global FaceAccessed 30 May 2010.
Paisley, Fiona "Hidden Story Behind a Portrait (of Anthony Martin Fernando)" National Museum of Australiasmall>Accessed 30 May 2010.
THE STORY OF AM FERNANDO, Radio National, Late Night Live, 23 May 2012.
Further reading
*
Fiona Paisley
Fiona Kerr Paisley (born 1958) is a Scottish-born Australian cultural historian at Griffith University. Her research and writing focuses on Australian Indigenous, feminist and transnational history.
Paisley was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 19 ...
, ''The Lone Protestor - A M Fernando in Australia and Europe''. Aboriginal Studies Press, 2012.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Anthony
1864 births
1949 deaths
Australian indigenous rights activists
People from Sydney