Douglas Nicholls
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Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls KCVO OBE |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 28th Governor of South Australia | |
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In office 1 December 1976 – 30 April 1977 |
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| Monarch | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Sir Mark Oliphant |
| Succeeded by | Sir Keith Seaman |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 December 1906 Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales |
| Died | 4 June 1988 (aged 81) Mooroopna, Victoria |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Profession | Athlete and Pastor |
| Religion | Church of Christ |
Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls, KCVO OBE (9 December 1906 – 4 June 1988) was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for .
Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to be knighted and also the first appointed to vice-regal office, serving as Governor of South Australia from 1 December 1976 until his resignation on 30 April 1977 due to poor health.
Douglas Nicholls was born on 9 December 1906 on the Cummeragunja Reserve in New South Wales. Schooling at the mission was provided to Grade 3 standard and strict religious principles were emphasised. When he was eight, he saw his 16-year-old sister Hilda forcibly taken from his family by the police and taken to the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls where she was trained to becoming a domestic servant.
At 13 he worked with his uncle as a tar boy and general hand on sheep stations, and he lived with the shearers. He worked hard and had a cheerful disposition. This annoyed one of the shearers so much that he challenged Nicholls to a fight, with the loser to hand over one week's pay (30 shillings – $3). After six rounds the shearer who challenged him conceded defeat.
Nicholls played Australian rules football. After playing in the Goulburn Valley for Tongala, Nicholls tried out for VFL clubs North Melbourne and Carlton before the 1927 season; Nicholls played some seconds matches for Carlton but did not play a senior game. He subsequently joined the Northcote Football Club in the VFA, and became a regular in the Northcote team by 1929. He made his name as an energetic and speedy wingman, capable of spectacular feats, and came to be regarded as the best wingman in the VFA at the time. At 5'2", he was one of the shortest players in the game. He was a member of Northcote's 1929 premiership team, and finished third in the Recorder Cup voting in 1931, his final season with Northcote.
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