Rick Farley
Encyclopedia
Richard Andrew Farley was a white Australia
n activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians
.
Born in Townsville, Queensland
, Farley had a career which went from actor and hippie
to journalist, Whitlam
government staffer, head of the Cattlemen's Union and then to his most celebrated role, with the National Farmers' Federation
. He was later a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
In 1990, he and Philip Toyne of the Australian Conservation Foundation
persuaded the Australian Government
to contribute a significant sum of money to the national Landcare volunteer movement.
His approach to political activism was based on the view that the future of the Australian environment depended on cooperation between Indigenous Australians and settler Australians whose livelihoods depended on conservation of the rural ecology with the Green movement.
He was also Chief Executive of the National Farmers' Federation
for eight years. In 1998 he was a candidate for the Australian Democrats
, to represent the Australian Capital Territory
in the Australian Senate
, receiving approximately 16% of the primary vote.
His partner, for the last decade or so of his life, was Linda Burney
, the first Indigenous member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
and currently the Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Opposition and he had two children, Cailin and Jeremy. He died in Sydney
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Born in Townsville, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Farley had a career which went from actor and hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
to journalist, Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government staffer, head of the Cattlemen's Union and then to his most celebrated role, with the National Farmers' Federation
National Farmers' Federation
The National Farmers' Federation is an Australian industry association that represents Australian farmers at a national level, including through lobbying the Australian Government...
. He was later a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
In 1990, he and Philip Toyne of the Australian Conservation Foundation
Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Foundation is an Australian non-profit, community-based environmental organisation focused on advocacy, policy research and community outreach.-History:...
persuaded the Australian Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
to contribute a significant sum of money to the national Landcare volunteer movement.
His approach to political activism was based on the view that the future of the Australian environment depended on cooperation between Indigenous Australians and settler Australians whose livelihoods depended on conservation of the rural ecology with the Green movement.
He was also Chief Executive of the National Farmers' Federation
National Farmers' Federation
The National Farmers' Federation is an Australian industry association that represents Australian farmers at a national level, including through lobbying the Australian Government...
for eight years. In 1998 he was a candidate for the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, to represent the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, receiving approximately 16% of the primary vote.
His partner, for the last decade or so of his life, was Linda Burney
Linda Burney
The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Canterbury for the Australian Labor Party since 2003...
, the first Indigenous member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
and currently the Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Opposition and he had two children, Cailin and Jeremy. He died in 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...
.
External links
- For love of the land -- obituary in The Australian, 15 May 2006
- Rick Farley: a remarkable life ends in tragic accident, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May 2006
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an22290268Rick Farley addressing the National Press ClubNational Press Club (Australia)The National Press Club is an association of primarily news journalists, but also includes academics, business people and members of the public service, and is based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded in the 1960s as the National Press Luncheon Club by a few journalists with the backing of the...
, 26 July 2000], in the National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
collection of portraits