Fighting hard : the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League / Richard Broome.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Broome, Richard, 1948- author.

Contributor:

Albert E. Visk, W'28, Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Victorian Aborigines Advancement League--History.

Victorian Aborigines Advancement League.

Aboriginal Australians--Australia--Victoria--Societies, etc.

Aboriginal Australians.

Aboriginal Australians--Australia--Victoria--Social conditions.

Aboriginal Australians--Government relations.

Aboriginal Australians--Australia--Victoria--History.

History.

Social conditions.

Victoria--History.

Victoria.

Physical Description:

xii, 275 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Canberra, A.C.T. Aboriginal Studies Press, 2015.

Summary:

Fighting hard tells a history of the Aborigines Advancement League, the oldest Aboriginal organisation in Australia. As both a welfare and activist body, the League is the 'mother' of all Aboriginal Victorian community organisations, having spawned a diverse range of them. The League influenced the fight for civil rights and took a stand against the government's assimilation policy. Its activism with government and the United Nations predates the better known Tent Embassy and provided a Victorian, national and international perspective on Aboriginal affairs. Begun as a coalition of all Australians, in 1969 a black power takeover changed its management to Aboriginal community control - something which was managed peacefully and fruitfully. Its national significance is marked by the League's leadership where, from the 1970s, many community heroes became role models for Aboriginal youth. Over the years the League has proven that despite the pervasive mythology. Aboriginal people are able to successfully govern their own organisations. In particular, the League has proven its capacity for managing good governance while maintaining Aboriginal cultural values. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 A 'radical hope' imagined 1

1 The birth of Yorta Yorta activism 3

2 Aboriginal Melbourne 12

3 Rocket testing launches the League 29

Part 2 A duet in white and black 45

4 The League's formative years 47

5 Welfare and service frameworks 71

6 Fighting assimilation 95

Part 3 A radical hope realised - Aboriginal community control 119

7 Black power turmoil 121

8 Bruce McGuinness takes charge 142

9 Going it alone 168

10 Consolidation 192

11 The League turns fifty 213.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Albert E. Visk, W'28, Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

1922059862

9781922059864

OCLC:

894978556

Publisher Number:

99962707203