Stephen Hagan
| Stephen Hagan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Education | Marist College Ashgrove |
| Known for | Writing, Aboriginal rights activism |
| Spouse(s) | Rhonda Hagan |
Stephen Hagan (Jnr) is an Australian author and activist. He is also a newspaper editor, documentary maker, university lecturer and former diplomat.
Stephen Hagan was born in 1959 in Cunnamulla in South West Queensland, Australia. His father, Jim Hagan, belonged to the Kullili people of the region, while his mother was from the nearby Kooma. Hagan spent his first seven years living on a camp on the outskirts of the town, before moving into a new house nearby – an experience that helped shape his perceptions of the socio-economic inequalities between the aboriginal population and white Australians.
Success in high school led to an opportunity to attend boarding school at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane. From there he undertook training to become a teacher, but he reports that he became disillusioned with the system after being required to teach with "racist" texts. As a result, he left teaching to work with a number of Indigenous organisations, and it was through them that he met and worked under Charles Perkins. From there he moved into the Department of Foreign Affairs, gaining a diplomatic post to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Upon returning to Australia he worked in both the public and private sectors, the latter including venturing into cultural tourism. More recently he lectured at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba while undertaking a doctorate. In July 2010, Hagan became editor of the National Indigenous Times. After promising to fix problems with plagiarism at the paper, Hagan left in December 2013. His suit for unfair dismissal was part of the reason the paper went into administration in 2015.
In 1999, Stephen Hagan visited the Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba, Queensland, and noticed a large sign declaring the name of the E. S. "Nigger" Brown Stand, which had been named after the 1920s rugby player Edwin Stanley Brown – also known as "Nigger" Brown, possibly in response to his pale skin and blond hair. This prompted a long campaign to have the stand renamed to remove the offending nickname.
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