Description
“A white hot flame indeed – here is crucial contribution to our national story.” –Kim Scott *** Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881-1961) is crucial but under-recognised figure in Australian history. A member of a successful squatting circle of relatives, she become a voice for reform at a time when Aboriginal Australians had their citizens’ rights curtailed by repressive state laws. From her late forties until her death she fought for justice on behalf of the first Australians. She used to be a teacher, a author and an advocate. She vehemently opposed the separating, on racial grounds, of Aboriginal children from their families. She put the case, decades before campaigns started, for Aboriginal rights to conventional lands. And she argued for citizenship rights, including equal pay and get admission to to old age pensions for Aboriginal people. A friend described her as ‘a white hot flame’, relentless in pursuit of a higher world for the people she loved. This first full-length biography seeks the sources of Mary’s inspiring energy, maintained all the way through her life, in her circle of relatives background and early life experiences. (Series: Australian History) [Subject: History, Aboriginal Studies, Politics, Australian Studies]