Australian Events in the News

Lady Nicholls! Isn’t it wonderful?; SA champ ready to win ’ The News - 3 June 1972 Adelaide; News Limited Newspaper, 410 x 300 mm Location : State Library of South Australia - view catalogue entry This item is reproduced courtesy of Advertiser Newspapers Ltd. It may be printed or saved for personal research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from Advertiser Newspapers Ltd and the State Library of South Australia. Further information may be found at the State Library's Permission to publish page.

Sir Douglas Nicholls was knighted in 1972 for his work for Aboriginal Australians. He was the first Aboriginal person to receive this honour. Nicholls was born in New South Wales in 1906, of Djadjawurung and Yorta Yorta descent. He was a keen athlete and played Australian Rules football in the Victorian Football League in the 1930s. In 1937 he quit playing football to concentrate on church duties. In 1947 Nicholls became pastor of the Churches of Christ Aborigines’ Mission in Fitzroy. As a social worker he worked for Aboriginal rights and co-founded the Aborigines Advancement League with Doris Blackburn. Nicholls became the Governor of South Australia in 1976 and was the first Aboriginal person to become Governor of any Australian state. At the time of his appointment Nicholls said, “I want to serve the people of South Australia, but most of all I want to hear them say – he’s one of us.” Nicholls was forced to resign from the governorship of South Australia in 1977 due to ill health.

Further reading

• Clarke, Mavis Thorpe, Pastor Doug: the story of Sir Douglas Nicholls, Aboriginal leader, Adelaide: Rigby, 1975.

Links

• Discovering Democracy
• Yarra Healing: Towards reconciliation with Indigenous Australians

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