Neville Bonner
|
Neville Bonner AO |
|
|---|---|
| Senator for Queensland | |
|
In office 11 June 1971 – 4 February 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | Dame Annabelle Rankin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 March 1922 Ukerebagh Island, New South Wales |
| Died | 5 February 1999 (aged 76) Ipswich, Queensland |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party |
Liberal (1971–83) Independent (1983) |
| Spouse(s) | Mona Bonner (deceased), Heather Bonner |
| Children | 5 boys |
| Occupation | Federal Senator |
Neville Thomas Bonner AO (28 March 1922 – 5 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was initially appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of Queensland in the Senate, and later became the first indigenous Australian to be elected to the parliament by popular vote. Bonner claimed to be an elder of the Jagera people.
Neville Bonner was born in Ukerebagh Island, a small settlement on the Tweed River in northern New South Wales. He never knew his father and had almost no formal education. He worked as a ring barker, canecutter and stockman before settling on Palm Island, near Townsville, Queensland in 1946, where he rose to the position of Assistant Settlement Overseer.
In 1960 he moved to Ipswich, where he joined the board of directors of the One People of Australia League (OPAL), a moderate indigenous rights organisation. He became its Queensland president in 1970. He joined the Liberal Party in 1967 and held local office in the party. Following the resignation of Liberal Senator Dame Annabelle Rankin in 1971, Bonner was chosen to fill the casual vacancy and he became the first indigenous Australian to sit in the Australian Parliament. He was elected in his own right in 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1980.
...
Wikipedia