The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

rights organisation in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

that was founded and run by William Ferguson and

Jack Patten John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist. He was a co-founder of the Aborigines Progressive Association and led some of the first organised Aboriginal protests, incl ...

from 1937 to 1944, and was then revived from 1963 until around 1970 by Herbert Groves.

First incarnation

The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was established in 1937 by William Ferguson and

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

. Ferguson led a group in the western part of the state, while Patten assembled an alliance of activists in the

north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

. Both wings of the APA were involved in political organisation, rallies, and protests in both Aboriginal communities and reserves and major NSW centres such as

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The Association was financed by the Sydney businessman

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 ...

. In 1938 the APA organised the

Day of Mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

(26 January) of that year to protest the lack of basic

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

available to Aborigines. It was held at the Australian Hall, Sydney. The APA was joined by the Melbourne-based

Australian Aborigines' League The Australian Aborigines' League was established in Melbourne, Australia, in 1933 by William Cooper and others, including Margaret Tucker, Eric Onus, Anna and Caleb Morgan, and Shadrach James (son of Thomas Shadrach James and brother-in-la ...

in staging the Day of Mourning to draw attention to the treatment of Aborigines and to demand full citizenship and equal rights. Ferguson, APA’s organising secretary, said of the planned national day of mourning: "The aborigines do not want protection... We have been protected for 150 years, and look what has become of us. Scientists have studied us and written books about us as though we were some strange curiosities, but they have not prevented us from contracting tuberculosis and other diseases, which have wiped us out in thousands." The APA was wound down in 1944.

Second incarnation

The APA was revived in 1963 by Herbert Stanley "Bert" Groves, who had in 1956 co-founded the

Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship The Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship (AAF) was a Sydney-based organisation focused on changing the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board, the wider issues of wage parity and full citizenship for Aboriginal Australians. History The organis ...

(AAF) with

Pearl Gibbs Pearl Mary "Gambanyi" Gibbs (née Brown) (18 July 1901 – 28 April 1983) was an Indigenous Australian activist, and the most prominent female activist within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century. She was a member of the Aborigine ...

and others.PDF
/ref> Gibbs was also a co-founder of this APA, and other prominent people associated with it were

Joyce Clague Joyce Caroline Clague Order of the British Empire, MBE (née Mercy; 22 July 1938 – September 2024) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist and Yaygirr, Yaegl elder. Her activism centred on social change for Indigenous Australians. She wa ...

, Dulcie Flower, Harriet Ellis, Ray Peckham,

Chicka Dixon Charles "Chicka" Dixon (5 May 1928 – 10 March 2010) was an Australian Aboriginal activist and leader. He was active in campaigns around the 1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals), 1967 referendum and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, dedicating ...

and Ken Brindle. Groves strongly believed that Aboriginal people should control this new incarnation of the APA. From 1964 to 1970 the APA under Groves published a quarterly journal called ''Churinga'' as the official journal of the APA. is The journal, inspired by the 1938 journal '' Abo Call'', was the inspiration for Churinga, aimed to inform non-Aboriginal people about issues such as Indigenous struggles for equal rights and

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

, as well as addressing the Aboriginal community in an effort to create solidarity and unity among the different groups. From December 1970 to February 1972 it was continued as '' Alchuringa'', published by Kevin Gilbert's short-lived Aboriginal National Theatre Foundation. Groves died on 28 December 1970, aged 63.

Footnotes

References

{{Indigenous Australians Defunct organisations serving Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australian politics History of Indigenous Australians 1937 establishments in Australia

First incarnation

Second incarnation

See also

Footnotes

References