 "There is no greater sorrow on earth than the loss of one's native land." - Euripides 431 B.C. |
A Gallery in Tribute to Heroes of the Political Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: 1900 - 2000 |
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1882 - 1950 | |||
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• Born 24 July 1882 Darlington Point NSW • Shearer and member of AWU • Active in ALP in 1920s • 1933 Settled in Dubbo • 1937 est. Aborigines Progressive Association • Worked closely with Cooper and Patten • 1937 calls for a 'Day of Mourning' • 1938 with Patten publish Manifesto • 1938 Jan 26th Co-organiser Day of Mourning • 1938 Jan 31st Meets with Prime Minister Lyons • 1939 Fall out with Patten splits APA • 1943 Elected to NSW Aborigines Protection Board • 1949 Disillusioned with ALP • 1949 Stands as independent in Federal election • 1949 December 22nd loses bid for federal seat • 1950 January 4th collapses and dies. | ||
| Bill Ferguson (1882-1950) was born near Darlington Point in NSW and was a well-known public speaker and a founding member of the Aborigines Progressive Association in 1937. Ferguson had a trade union background with the Australian Workers' Union, and was part of an unsuccessful deputation to Canberra in 1949 that submitted proposals for reforms in Aboriginal administration to the Chifley Labor Government. A member of the Labor Party at the time, Ferguson quit and later contested the national elections as an independent in the Lawson (Dubbo) electorate. He received 388 votes. Ferguson died within a few weeks of the election. | |||