William Cooper

Aboriginal political activist

• Born: December 18, 1860 or 1861
• Birthplace: Moira, Victoria, Australia
• Died: March 29, 1941
• Place of death: Mooroopna, Victoria, Australia

Also known as: Yelgaborrnya

Significance: William Cooper was a prominent Aboriginal rights activist and community leader during the early twentieth century. He co-founded and served as the first secretary of the Australian Aborigines’ League (AAL) in 1933.

Background

William Cooper was born to Kitty Lewis and a White man, who was not involved in his life, in Yorta Yorta territory in what is now known as Victoria, Australia, on December 18, in either 1860 or 1861. The Yorta Yorta are an Aboriginal Australian tribe who inhabited the land where the Goulburn and Murray Rivers meet. When Cooper was about fourteen years old, he moved with his mother and brother to Maloga, an Aboriginal Mission Station, where at first, he received a sporadic education and mostly performed menial household labor.

When the Methodist leader Thomas Shadrach James became the resident teacher at Maloga in 1881, Cooper received a more thorough education and read widely on Indigenous rights movements in North America and New Zealand. The mission environment motivated Cooper to devote himself to Christianity, and its activist themes inspired his life’s work on behalf of Aboriginal rights.

Life’s Work

Cooper’s long campaign for Aboriginal rights, especially land rights, began when he became one of the eleven signatories of the Maloga Petition in 1887. This petition was addressed to the governor of New South Wales and stated that local Aboriginal people “should be granted sections of land not less than 100 acres per family in fee simple or else at a small nominal rental annually with the option of purchase at such prices as shall be deemed reasonable for them under the circumstances, always bearing in mind that the Aborigines were the former occupiers of the land.”

In 1933, Cooper co-founded the Australian Aborigines’ League (AAL) in Melbourne and became its first secretary. The AAL advocated for the rights and welfare of Aboriginal people, addressing issues such as discrimination and land rights.

In 1937, Cooper and the AAL submitted a petition to King George V of the United Kingdom (UK), calling for increased rights and protection for Aboriginal people in Australia. This petition, known as the Aborigines’ Progressive Association’s Aborigines’ Claim, sought to address discrimination and inequality. However, by February 1938, the UK Cabinet decided that it should not be submitted to the king (who by this time was George VI). Nevertheless, Cooper skillfully managed to obtain face-to-face meetings with his government representatives. In 1935 he participated in the first Aboriginal deputation, meaning he was a representative for the group, with a Commonwealth minister, and in 1938 took part in the first deputation with the Australian prime minister.

One of the most notable actions taken by Cooper and the AAL occurred on January 26, 1938, when they organized a protest known as the Day of Mourning. This event coincided with the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia, which celebrates the legacy of colonial imperialism in the country. The Day of Mourning was held in Sydney and included a conference that brought together Aboriginal delegates from across the country to address the injustices faced by Aboriginal people and demand equal rights. The event was the first combined interstate protest by Aboriginal Australians.

In response to the horrific events of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany, Cooper led a delegation to deliver a petition to the German consulate in Melbourne on December 6, 1938. The petition was signed on behalf of the AAL and denounced the violence, discrimination, and inhumane treatment that was inflicted upon the Jewish community during Kristallnacht. It expressed solidarity with the Jewish people and called for an end to the mistreatment they were facing. This act of compassion and support for another marginalized group demonstrated Cooper’s broader commitment to justice, empathy, and human rights beyond his own community.

In 1940, Cooper proposed a resolution calling for the establishment of a National Day for Aboriginal People to celebrate Aboriginal culture, history, and achievements. Although it was not immediately implemented, it laid the groundwork for later initiatives taken by Cooper’s nephew and protégé Douglas Nicholls. Cooper continued protesting Australia’s treatment of its Indigenous people until his death at Mooroopna Base Hospital on March 29, 1941. His funeral was held at the church in Cummeragunja, and he was buried at the nearby mission cemetery.

Impact

Cooper’s contributions to the Aboriginal rights movement and advocacy for social justice continue to be recognized and celebrated today. On October 5, 2010, a court complex named the “William Cooper Justice Centre” was opened in Melbourne. The William Cooper Cup is an annual trophy awarded to the winner of an Australian rules football match between the Aboriginal All-Stars and Victoria Police at Whitten Oval in Footscray. Cooper’s legacy serves as an inspiration for ongoing efforts to achieve equality, recognition, and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.

Cooper has also received recognition from the Australian Jewish community. In 2002 a plaque was installed at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne in honor of the Aboriginal people for their actions protesting against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi Government of Germany in 1938. Furthermore, in 2010, the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum in Israel created the Chair of Resistance Studies in its research arm in Cooper’s honor.

Personal Life

Cooper married Annie Clarendon Murri in June of 1884. However, she died five years later. They had two children together, the first of whom died in 1889 as well. Four years later, Cooper married Agnes Hamilton, and they had six children together. Agnes passed away in 1910. Lastly, at age sixty-five, Cooper married Sarah Nelson. They spent their final years together with their many grandchildren.

Bibliography

Attwood, Bain and Andrew Markus. Thinking Black: William Cooper and the Australian Aborigines’ League, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 2004.

Attwood, Bain. William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story, Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2021.

Barwick, Diane. “Cooper, William (1861–1941)” Australian Dictionary of Biography.com, 2006. adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cooper-william-5773. Accessed 26 June 2023.

Daley, Paul. “The Extraordinary Aboriginal Leader Whose Story the Australian War Memorial Should be Telling.” The Guardian, 30 Oct. 2021, theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2021/oct/31/the-extraordinary-aboriginal-leader-whose-story-the-australian-war-memorial-should-be-telling. Accessed 26 June 2023.

“William Cooper and the Australian Aborigines’ League.” Monash University.edu, williamcooper.monash.edu. Accessed 26 June 2023.

“William Cooper ‘Day of Mourning’ Letter 1939.” National Archives of Australia, 1937, naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/first-australians/politics-and-advocacy/william-cooper-day-mourning-letter-1938. Accessed 26 June 2023.

“William Cooper Protests.” National Museum Australia website, updated 22 Sept. 2022, nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/william-cooper-protests. Accessed 26 Jun. 2023.