Home > Neville Bonner

He was born at Ukerabagh, a small settlement near Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales. He never knew his father and had almost no formal education. He worked as a farm labourer 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 Australia League (OPAL), a moderate Aboriginal rights organisation. He became its Queensland president in 1970. He joined the Liberal Party in 1967 and held local office in the party. In 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua he was chosen to fill a Senate vacancy created by the resignation of a Liberal Senator, thus becoming the first Aboriginal person to sit in the Australian Parliament. He was elected in his own right in 19721972 is a leap year starting on Saturday (click link for calendar). Events January events January 2 the Pierre Hotel Heist Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Loot is at least $4 million January 5 President of the Un, 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped, 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i and 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He.

While in the Senate he served on a number of committees but was never a serious candidate for promotion to the ministry. He rebelled against the Liberal Party line on some issues. Partly as a result of this, and partly due to pressure from younger candidates, he was dropped from the Liberal Senate ticket at the 1983Events January January 1 Beat Raaflaub became Basel Boys Choir's new conductor January 1 the ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. January 1 compulsory wearing of seat belts becomes law in the UK. January 2 The mu election. He stood as an independent and was nearly successful. The HawkeRobert James Lee Hawke (born December 9 1929), Australian trade union leader and politician, was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. After a decade as leader of the Australian union movement, he entered politics and was Prime Minister within three years government appointed him to the board of directors of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1979 he was named Australian of the Year. In 1984 he was awarded the title Officer of the Order of Australia. From 1992 to 1996 he was member of the Griffith University Council. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1993. In 1998 he was elected to Constitutional Convention as a candidate of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy. Bonner was an elder of the Jagera people. He died on 5 February 1999 at Ipswich.

Bonner was almost unique in being an Aboriginal activist and a political conservative: in fact he owed his political career to this fact. In the face of often savage personal criticism from radical Aboriginal activists, he often denied being a "token" in the Liberal Party, but the way that he was unceremoniously dumped in 1983 seemed to many to confirm the charge.