Aborigines Progressive Association
Encyclopedia
William Ferguson (Australian Aboriginal leader)
William Ferguson was an Indigenous Australian leader.He was born at Darlington Point, Waddai, New South Wales, and worked as a shearer, labourer and mailman in the west of the State. His first political involvements were as an organiser of shearers for the Australian Workers Union and then...
, Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Gibbs was an Indigenous Australian activist, and the most prominent female activist within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century...
and Jack Patten
Jack Patten
John Thomas Patten , known as Jack Patten was an Australian Aboriginal activist and journalist.-Biography:...
in Dubbo, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Ferguson and Gibbs led a group in the western part of the state, while Patten assemble an alliance of activists in the north-east. 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
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
In 1938 the APA organised the Day of Mourning
Day of Mourning
The Day of Mourning was a day of protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938, the sesquicentenary of British colonisation of Australia...
on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
of that year to protest the lack of basic human rights available to Aborigines. It was held at the Australian Hall building, Sydney.