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''The Australian Abo Call'', also known simply as ''Abo Call'', was the first Aboriginal-focused publication printed in Australia, with all issues published in 1938.
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''Abo Call'' archive
Purchase re-produced, full-scale replicas for each edition of ''Abo Call''. * {{trove newspaper, 51, The Australian Abo Call, National : 1938 Defunct newspapers published in Australia Indigenous Australian mass media 1938 establishments in Australia 1938 disestablishments in Australia
''The Australian Abo Call'', also known simply as ''Abo Call'', was the first Aboriginal-focused publication printed in Australia, with all issues published in 1938.
History
There was a total of six issues of ''The Australian Abo Call'', all published between April and September 1938. It was the first publication in Australia focused solely on Aboriginal issues and politics. The paper was written and edited by John (Jack) Patten, who co-founded of theAborigines Progressive Association
The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was an Aboriginal Australian rights organisation in New South Wales that was founded and run by William Ferguson (Australian Aboriginal leader), William Ferguson and Jack Patten from 1937 to 1944, an ...
(APA) in 1937, and featured news gathered by Patten on his travels through eastern Australia
The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territor ...
, as well as from correspondents nationwide. The newspaper's tagline was "The Voice of the Aborigines".
William Ferguson, who co-founded the APA with Patten, was opposed to the publication of the ''Abo Call'' on the grounds that he believed it was a mouthpiece for its right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
financial backers P. R. Stephensen and William John Miles
William John Miles (27 August 1871 – 10 January 1942) was an Australian businessman and far-right political activist.
Early life
Miles was born on 27 August 1871 in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales. He was the son of Ellen (née Munton) and John ...
. Ferguson also considered the newspaper's title to be insulting towards Aborigines.
Stephensen was known as a writer and publisher, and was honorary secretary of the Aboriginal Citizenship Committee, a support group of the APA, but was also known for turning to pro-Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
, anti-Semitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and anti-Communist views in his magazine ''The Publicist'' which he founded in 1936.
''Abo Call'' closed down after six months of publication, due to lack of funds.
Archives
''Abo Call'' is available online throughTrove
Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...
, a service hosted at the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
which allows access to historic Australian periodicals and newspapers.
The State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...
holds the six issues that were published, among Percy Reginald Stephensen's papers.
Legacy
Marcia Langton
Marcia Lynne Langton (born 31 October 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian writer and academic. she is the Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. Langton is an acti ...
later wrote that she and the other founders of the monthly paper ''Koori Bina
Roberta "Bobbi" Sykes (16 August 194314 November 2010) was an Australian poet and author. She was a lifelong campaigner for Indigenous land rights in Australia, Indigenous land rights, as well as human rights and women's rights.
Early life an ...
'' at Black Women's Action
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 Pat ...
in 1976 had been inspired by ''Abo Call''./ref>
See also
*List of newspapers in Australia
This is a list of newspapers in Australia. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' is the most-read newspaper in Australia, with over eight million readers as of 2021.
Top 10 newspapers by circulation
The following is a list of the top 10 newspapers ...
Footnotes
References
External links
''Abo Call'' archive
Purchase re-produced, full-scale replicas for each edition of ''Abo Call''. * {{trove newspaper, 51, The Australian Abo Call, National : 1938 Defunct newspapers published in Australia Indigenous Australian mass media 1938 establishments in Australia 1938 disestablishments in Australia