Shadrach Livingstone James (15 May 1890 – 7 August 1956) was a teacher, unionist and Aboriginal Australian activist.
Shadrach Livingstone James | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 May 1890 Cummeragunja Reserve, Australia |
| Died | 7 August 1956 (aged 66) Geelong, Australia |
| Resting place | Mooroopna |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Shadrach James Ada Bethel Cooper |
| Relatives | Douglas Nicholls (cousin) William Cooper (brother-in-law) |
Early life and education
editJames was born in 1890, the eldest son of Thomas Shadrach James[1] and Ada Bethel Cooper at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve in New South Wales. His father was a Mauritian-born teacher and his mother a member of the Yorta Yorta people.[2]
In 1909 James married Maggie Campbell in Echuca. The couple had seven children, three sons and four daughters.[2]
James was educated in the mission school run by his father and eventually became qualified as a teaching assistant. After worked with his father it was assumed that he would be appointed his successor as head teacher; however, the New South Wales government declined to appoint him to the position.[2]
Working life
editIn 1928 James and his family moved to Mooroopna where he worked for Ardmona Fruit Products Co-operative. He was elected as secretary of the local branch of the Food Preservers' Union and was for a time vice-president of the Goulburn district council.[2]
Activism
editBetween 1928[2](or 1933?) and 1955 was honorary secretary of the Australian Aborigines' League, which he helped to establish in Melbourne in 1933, along with his brother-in-law William Cooper and others.[3][a] In this role he was active in lobbying government to improve living conditions for Aboriginal people.[2]
James faced bureaucratic opposition due to his mixed-race heritage.[2]
Death and legacy
editJames died in 1956 of a heart attack in Geelong and was buried in Mooroopna Cemetery.[2]
The playwright Andrea James is his granddaughter.[1]
Footnotes
edit- ^ ADB calls it the Aboriginal Progressive Association of Victoria, but the SBS interview with his granddaughter confirms that they were referring to the same organisation. There is a discrepancy with the dates though.
References
edit- ^ a b James, Andrea (19 March 2018). "A Tamil amongst First Australians" (Audio (11 mins)). SBS Tamil (Interview). Interviewed by Sanchayan, Kulasegaram. SBS. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "James, Thomas Shadrach (1859 - 1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 2006. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ "Australian Aborigines' League". Collaborating for Indigenous Rights. National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.