Joyce Clague
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Joyce Caroline Clague MBE (née Mercy; 22 July 1938 – September 2024) 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 ...
political activist and Yaegl elder. Her activism centred on social change for
Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
. She was influential in instigating the 1967
Constitutional Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...
and in the 1996 native title claim, known as Yaegl #1, which was settled in 2015.


Early years

Joyce Caroline Mercy was born on 22 July 1938 in the New South Wales town of
Maclean MacLean, also spelt McLean, is a Scottish Gaelic surname (Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain", a ...
, one of 15 children. Although Aboriginal children attending mission schools were strongly discouraged from speaking their mother tongues, Clague learned the Yaegl language to communicate with her grandparents and maintain a strong connection to her culture. As a teenager, she studied nursing in Sydney.


Career and activism

Clague met and became friends with leading members of 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 ...
and became a member of the
Aborigines 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 ...
.Extracts from an interview with Clague by Sue Taffe and Leanne Miller, 8 November 1996. The National Museum of Australia

/ref> In 1960, she attended the third
Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), founded in Adelaide, South Australia, as the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) on 16 February 1958, was a civil rights organisation whic ...
conference at Newport, Sydney. She found encouragement in a visiting activist, Jack Horner. She was influential in instigating the 1967
Constitutional Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...
. Following the 1967 referendum, she worked with musician
Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his professi ...
on a campaign to get Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll. She also appeared in the film about the 1967 referendum, ''Vote Yes for Aborigines''. In 1968, she stood for the Legislative Council of the Northern Territory, with her independent campaign encouraging the enrolment of 6500 Aboriginal people. She convened the Federal Council for Advancement of Aborigines (FCAATSI) in 1969. She was also appointed a representative of the World Churches Commission to Combat Racism. She was elected as Northern Territory state secretary at the 1972 FCAATSI conference. She also worked in the Office of the New South Wales Ombudsman as an assistant investigation officer. She was a founding member of and served two terms as the New South Wales Women's Advisory Council to the Premier. In the 1980s, she stood for pre-selection for
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
seats in both houses of the Parliament of New South Wales. She was also a member of the Australian Republic Movement. Beginning in 1987, she was treasurer and member of the Metropolitan Land Council. The Nungera Museum in Maclean was largely her initiative. After ending her involvement with the project, the museum ultimately failed. In 1986, Clague was the first Aboriginal person to become a trustee on the
Australian Museum Trust The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural history museum in Australia and the fifth oldest natural ...
.


Native title claim

In November 1996, she and Della Walker lodged a native title claim, known as Yaegl #1, that encompasses a large stretch of the Clarence River and its tributaries, on behalf of the Yaegl people. This was successfully settled at a
Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
consent determination hearing in 2015, ending what had been the oldest legal matter before the court.


Recognition and honours

In 1977, Clague was awarded the
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
. Her father encouraged her to accept the honour on behalf of Aboriginal people. She referred to the MBE as More Black than Ever.


Personal life

Clague married Colin, an Anglo-Australian whose ancestors came from the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, about two years after they met at a Christian youth conference in the Philippines in 1964. The 2007 documentary ''When Colin Met Joyce'', written and produced by Pauline Clague, the third of her four daughters, concerns their relationship.Larry Schwartz
"Marriage tracked across race and time"
''The Age'', 7 August 2008.
She died in September 2024 at the age of 85.


Works

* * * Clague, Joyce, 'Staying to the end', in Scutt, Jocelynne A. (ed.), Glorious age : growing older gloriously, Artemis, Melbourne, 1993.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clague, Joyce 1938 births 2024 deaths Australian Indigenous rights activists Australian women human rights activists Bundjalung people People from the Northern Rivers Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire