Australia’s First Indigenous Parliamentarian: Neville Bonner AO

Neville Bonner AO was a trailblazer and history maker.

Fifty years ago this month, he took up a vacant seat in the Senate and became the first Indigenous Australian to enter the Parliament of Australia.

He was born in 1922 on Ukeregagh Island, a small island in the Tweed River of Northern NSW.

Throughout his early years, he received little formal education and worked in various jobs. He took an interest in political activities in the early 1960s and became involved in the One People of Australia League.

He campaigned during the 1967 referendum and months later joined the Liberal Party.

After campaigning unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1970, he was nominated to fill a casual vacancy in 1971. He stood for re-election another 5 times and won each time.

During this period he campaigned on a range of issues including ‘national symbolism, land rights, technological opportunities, East Timor and social security entitlements’.

He was a principled politician and didn’t always vote along party lines, crossing the floor on 34 occasions.

He served in parliament until 1983 after which he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1979, he was named joint Australian of the Year along with naturalist Harry Butler.

In 1984 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Neville Bonner died at Ipswich, Queensland in 1999.

Since Senator Bonner left the Senate, a further 9 individuals identifying as Indigenous have served in the Parliament of Australia.

NB: David Kennedy was actually the first Indigenous individual elected to Federal Parliament serving as the ALP Member for Bendigo (1969–1972). ‘However, his Indigenous heritage was not known when he entered [parliament] nor did he self-identify as Indigenous at that time. For these reasons Neville Bonner is recorded as the first Indigenous federal parliamentarian.’