The Australian Abo Call April 1938 a1903001

''The Australian Abo Call'', also known simply as ''Abo Call'', was the first

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

-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 the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) in 1937, and featured news gathered by Patten on his travels through eastern Australia, as well as from correspondents nationwide. The newspaper's tagline was "The Voice of the Aborigines".

William Ferguson William Ferguson may refer to: Arts * William Ferguson (tenor), operatic tenor, see '' The Tempest'' * William Gouw Ferguson, Scottish painter of still life * Will Ferguson (born 1964), Canadian writer Sportspeople * Bill Ferguson (American foo ...

, 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 describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

financial backers

P. R. Stephensen Percy Reginald Stephensen (20 November 1901 – 28 May 1965) was an Australian writer, publisher and political activist, first aligned with communism and later shifting support towards far-right politics. He was the co-founder of the fascist Aus ...

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, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, 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.

Legacy

Marcia Langton Marcia Lynne Langton (born 1951) is an Australian academic. she is the Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. Regarded as one of Australia's top intellectuals, L ...

later wrote that she and the other founders of the monthly paper '' Koori Bina'' at Black Women's Action in 1976 had been inspired by ''Abo Call''.PDF
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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

History

Archives

Legacy

See also

Footnotes

References

External links