The Lone Protestor

(Paperback)

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The late 1920s saw an extraordinary protest by an Australian Aboriginal man on the streets of London. Standing outside Australia House, cloaked in tiny skeletons, Anthony Martin Fernando condemned the failure of British rule in his country. Fernando is believed to be the first Aboriginal person to protest conditions in Australia from the streets of Europe. His various forms of action, from pamphlets on the streets of Rome to the famous Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, distinguish this lone protestor as a unique Aboriginal activist of his time. Drawn from an extensive search in archives from Australia and Europe, this is the first full-length study of Fernando's life and the self-professed mission that lasted half his adult life.

Reviews

This is an important study of an important, though very little known, Aboriginal figure.Professor Peter Read, University of Sydney Paisley's The Lone Protestor captures Fernando's idiosyncrasies, the courage and alienation of his struggles, and, finally, the tragedy of the Australian Aboriginal whose dogged campaigns passed with insufficient notice from his fellow Australians. Almost a century later, The Lone Protester sets the historical record straight.Professor Grant Farred, Cornell University In this thoroughly researched and moving biography Fiona Paisley illustrates the importance of taking imperial histories beyond the boundaries of the nation. Through the life of AM Fernando we see how the personal geographies of a marginal Aboriginal Australian man can illuminate national histories of Britain and Australia, the political geographies of two World Wars and the international and imperial networks that battled over the rights of colonised peoples.Dr Caroline Bressey, Director, Equiano Centre, University College London

Author Bio

Fiona Paisley is a cultural historian and an associate professor at Griffith University. She is the author of "Glamour in the Pacific, Loving Protection, "and "Uncommon Ground." Her articles have appeared in such journals as "Feminist Review," "Journal of Women's History," and the "Law and History Review."