Clarence Frederick "Clarrie" Isaacs, also known as Yaluritja and Ishak Mohamad Haj, (9 April 1948 – 26 November 2003) 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 ...

activist.

Life and career

Isaacs attended

Perth Modern School Perth Modern School (colloquially known as Perth Mod) is a public co-educational academically selective high school, located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Perth Modern is Western Australia's only fully academica ...

, where he studied technical drawing. He later attended the Clyde Cameron College in

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

, a union-backed training centre. After converting to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Isaacs undertook a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, earning the right to use the honorific title Haj. In the early 1990s Isaacs was among a number of activists, including

Michael Mansell Michael Alexander Mansell (born 5 June 1951) is a Tasmanian Aboriginal (Palawa) activist and lawyer who has campaigned for social, political and legal changes. Mansell is partly of Palawa descent from the Trawlwoolway group on his mother's sid ...

, who formed the

Aboriginal Provisional Government The Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG) is an Indigenous Australian independence movement in Australia. History Earlier activity The idea of an Aboriginal government was developed by some Aboriginal delegates of the Federation of Land Coun ...

. At various times Isaacs styled himself as the President of the Aboriginal Government. Isaacs, with other activists, travelled to

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

using Aboriginal passports issued by a group that later became known as the Aboriginal Provisional Government. Attempting to use the passports on their re-entry to Australia, they were initially refused entry to Australia by immigration officials. Isaacs was a prominent figure in protests against development of the

Swan Brewery The Swan Brewery is a brewing company, whose high profile brewery was once located beside the Swan River, Western Australia, Swan River, in Perth, Western Australia. History The brewery was established in 1857 by Frederick Sherwood at the f ...

site in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

during the late 1980s. He was also prominent in efforts to return the pickled head of 19th century

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

warrior

Yagan Yagan (; – 11 July 1833) was an Aboriginal Australian warrior from the Noongar people. Yagan was pursued by the local authorities after he killed Erin Entwhistle, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler. It was an act of retaliation aft ...

from Britain. In 1991 Isaacs was a founding member of the short-lived New Left Party, considered a successor of the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

. In the

1993 Western Australian state election The General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its calendar advanced 24 hours to ...

Isaacs stood for the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

seat of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. Isaacs stood as a candidate for Racism No! in the

1996 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 14 December 1996 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The Liberal–National coalition government, led by Premier Richard Cou ...

for the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in the South Metropolitan Region. At the

2001 Australian federal election The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minis ...

Isaacs was a candidate for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

, however he only received 260 votes. He was chairman of the Derbal Yerrigan Health Service and was a Western Australian delegate to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. Isaacs was a justice of the peace. Isaacs died 26 November 2003 in

Dunsborough, Western Australia Dunsborough is a coastal town in the South West of Western Australia, south of Perth, on the shores of Geographe Bay. Dunsborough is a popular tourist destination for Western Australians; in 1999 it was voted the state's best tourist destinat ...

. He was buried on 12 December 2003 at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, Clarrie 1948 births 2003 deaths Australian Indigenous rights activists Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Trade unionists from Perth, Western Australia People educated at Perth Modern School Noongar people