Yorta Yorta man William Cooper was born in 1860 near the junction of the Murray and Goulburn rivers.
He went on to become a notable activist, best recognised for his landmark 1933 petition to the King for representation of Aboriginal people in the Commonwealth Parliament.
Mr Cooper is also remembered for his outrage at the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis leading up to World War II.
He was so appalled at their mistreatment he led a protest march to the German embassy in Melbourne in 1938.
Professor Bain Attwood’s book William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story reconstructs the first 70 years of Mr Cooper's life which led to his political achievements and which pieces together the story of how he came to be the politically active figure recognised and celebrated today.
Prof Attwood focuses on Mr Cooper’s most important campaigns — his famous petition to King George VI for an Aboriginal representative in the Australian parliament, his call for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, the walk-off of the Yorta Yorta people from Cummeragunja reserve in 1939 and his opposition to the establishment of an Aboriginal regiment in World War II.
Today, Mr Cooper is recognised as the father of National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC).
He is memorialised in Shepparton in a large mural off Fryers St and with a bronze statue unveiled in the Queen’s Gardens in 2018.
Prof Attwood is a professor of history at Melbourne’s Monash University.
William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story is published by Melbourne University Publishing (MUP).
Prof Attwood will deliver an online talk about his new book at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia on Thursday, November 18, from 6pm to 7.15pm. To register go to https://www.unisa.edu.au/connect/hawke-centre/events-calendar/cooper/
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