Pastor
Sir Doug Nicholls - 1906-88 “Northcote, a friend of the Aborigine”
Darebin’s Australians: Immigrants to Citizens
A YORTA YORTA BOY - CUMEROOGUNGA MISSION
Doug was born to Herbie & Florence Nicholls on the 9th of December
1906 in Moira country. A Yorta Yorta boy with a joyous spirit Doug
grew up on Cumeroogunga Mission by the banks of the mighty ‘Tongala’
or Murray River near Echuca.
AUSTRALIA HAD SHUNNED AND DISPOSSESSED HIS PEOPLE
He was born into an Australia that had shunned and dispossessed
his people. Before the white man came to ‘Tongala’ they
lived in unison with the land and the rivers, its fish, its reed
beds, ducks, possums, trees and snakes. With the coming of the white
man the Yorta Yorta had their land taken from them. Pastoralists
took up land for farming and river towns grew quickly with the Mary
Ann being the first Paddle Steamer to ply the river Murray in 1852.
The Yorta Yorta people had been reduced to begging at the wharf
etc. Cummeroogunga Mission had been set up by Daniel Matthews in
the late 1800’s. He was distressed at the sight of the Yorta
Yorta begging, diseased and dying. Daniel went along the Murray
inviting Aboriginals to join him at Maloga Station. Hence Dougs
childhood was a loving one with food, shelter and eduaction amongst
a community living with pride.
A YOUNG DOUG LOVES THE BANJO & PLAYING FOOTY
As a teenager Doug loved strumming the banjo and playing footy.
He worked as a ‘Tarboy’ in the shearing sheds realising
at an early age that being a good footballer made him equal in white
society. He came to Melbourne. His first job was working for a Chinese
fruit and vegetable seller at Victoria markets before venturing
out to find a football club that would take him on.
DOUG NICHOLLS COMES TO NORTHCOTE - PREMIERSHIP PLAYER
It’s here where Doug’s association with Northcote began.
In his first game for Northcote against Brunswick 9000 people turned
up to see an aboriginal play footy. He had the spring of a kangaroo,
the speed of an emu and the battling strength of a murray cod. In
no time the crowd was on its feet. Doug played exciting high marking
‘marn grook’ style footy and everyone forgot that he
was black. Doug always played the game and not the man, his opponents
were his friends. In 1929 Northcote won its 1st premiership with
Dougie the star recruit.
FASTEST MAN IN AUSTRALIA
Doug felt comfortable in Northcote like he had been in Cummeroogunga.
In the summer months he ran races and was thought to be the fastest
man in Australia over 25 yards winning the Nyah and Warracknabeal
Gifts.
JIMMY SHARMANS BOXING TROUPE
In the early 30’s Doug toured with Jimmy Sharmans boxing troupe
leading the Melbourne Herald to declare :“Doug Nicholls lost
to football”. He didn’t like boxing, doing it for the
security of having a job and his friendship with Sharman. It was
at The Royal Easter Show in Sydney that the Northcote, Carlton &
Fitzroy footy clubs chased Doug wanting him to return to Melbourne.
Jimmy recognised that footy was Doug’s future: “I’m
a mug. The kids making money for me. He can fight, what’s
more he’s a good sportsman” It was with Fitzroy that
Doug continued his footy.
MUM FLORENCE VISITS DOUG - PASTOR DOUGLAS NICHOLLS
Florence Nicholls came to visit Doug during his playing days at
Fitzroy. She didn’t like Melbourne: “too many white
faces and no trees”. Florence wanted a hestitant Doug to come
to a Church of Christ service. After mass they met with Pastor Dick
Saunders. The death of Florence not long after drew Doug to the
church. In 1935 Doug became a Pastor. Selected to play footy for
Victoria against West Australia he met the great Jack Dyer on the
'Trans Continental' train and complained that Jack called him a
nigger in a game against Richmond, Dyer apologised. Once again he
was reminded of the plight of his people when the train stopped
in The Nullabor and local Aboriginals begged for something to eat.
Doug became more outspoken.
UNCLE WILLIAM COOPER-THE GREAT ABORIGINAL NIGHT IN NORTHCOTE
Doug was the main speaker at The Great Aboriginal night in Northcote
1939, calling for social justice in legal rights, wages and education.
He joined with Uncle William Cooper in setting up The Australian
Aboriginals League. In Northcote he set up hostels and by 1956 had
helped form The Aboriginies Advancement League now located in Thornbury.
He became a champion for his people from Maralinga to the Kimberley,
was later knighted and in the 70’s became Governor of South
Australia, appointed by the Dunstan Labor Government.
AUSTRALIA DAY SPEECH IN BATMAN PARK
The following speech was reported on the front page of the Northcote
Leader on Wednesday Jan 30th-1957. 'Northcote had provided a very
large crowd to take part in the Australia Day celebration arranged
by aboriginals and friends on Sunday afternoon at Batman Park. The
crowd soundly applauded Pastor Doug Nicholls when he suggested,
as his theme, that the bridge between white and aboriginals should
be bridged'.
PASTOR DOUG NICHOLLS “Would you take Aboriginals into your home and make
both friends and workmates of them? They do it in New Zealand, even
if to a limited degree”. Doug Nicholls, footballer, curator,
fighter for the race of which he is a full blooded member was on
Sunday afternoon, the orator. He had prepared one speech, forgot
he was carrying notes, embarked upon a whimsical oration which none
of his hearers could have bettered had they been white or black."
THINK ABOUT
“This is a great day, this birthday of yours. We come to share
it with you. Someone said to me recently that we should go to the
Yarra Bank and organise a day of mourning for what happened 169
years ago. The mourning would be in memory of a great people. Those
who were the old Australians. But we are happy to come here today.
This place is ours you know. It reminds us that Captain Cook met
our ancestors. But it also reminds us practically on this very spot
they also met John Batman and signed a famous agreement. I don’t
want to embarrass our councillors, but what we are thinking of is
that in 1837 Batman made an agreement by which he and his undertook
to make a return for a perpetual lease of 5000 acres in the Northcote
vicinity."
DO YOU REMEMBER ?
"Do you remember what we were to get? Each year the rental
was to be 100 blankets, 100 knives, 100 tomahawks, 50 pairs of scissors,
50 looking glasses and 50 suits of clothes. Bless me, I could do
with a suit, but I don’t know about those looking glasses
and tomahawks. Then there was 50 tonnes of flower. I can’t
see any flour about. Perhaps Mayor Spain will do something about
it next week” (laughter). Mr Nicholls said that since Captain
Phillips landed with his cargo from the gaols of England, Australians
had made great progress. The nation had become great. The cities
were hives of industry and wheat and wool grew in the great open
spaces.
“You are a great nation he went on. A great people. You have
bridged the gulf between the old and the new, between the gaols
and thriving success. But you have not bridged the gulf what Harold
Blair calls the Old Australians and those who came in the middle.
As I see you here today supporting the only Northcote celebration
of Australia Day at a function run by Aborigines. I ask myself why
this gulf between the two peoples remain. Is it because you are
making it racial discrimination? You may be, you are a great people,
but is there any reason why we should not march beside you?"
'WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO BE TREATED LIKE YOURS'
"Is there any reason why we should be relegated to river-bank
shacks instead of being helped to rise above our present ‘degradation’
(applause). Is there any reason why one of us should not go on the
council which controls the land which once was ours, or even to
Canberra? A voice: Why not? We want chances, opportunities, our
children to be treated like your children” the Pastor went
on.
CAN YOU FIGHT ?
'You know there is quite a difference between 1914-18, 1939-45 and
1957. Do you remember how they came to us in those terrible years
and asked, "Aboriginals can you fight?" and we said, "Try
us", and our blood flowed with yours in Gallipoli, Tobruk and
New Guinea. But have we been asked anything since? We are different
from you only in colour. Are we encouraged?"
THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP
"Do you extend to us the hand of friendship? It is these things
which on this day of your birthday, we ask you to give to us after
all these 169 years." Among those who supported Mr Nicholls
were the Mayor, Councillor Mr A Spain, other councillorsv and there
wives; Mr D Clancy, President of the Aboriginals Girls Hostel Committee;
the famous Aboriginal singer,
Mr Harold Blair, and the Aboriginal Moomba Choir with Isabel Kuhl
and Merv Williams as soloists.
OWED A DEBT
Cr Spain said Northcote owed Doug Nicholls a debt for the function.
"We have to admit that he is one of the really truly Old Australians,
and that what he says is so true," Cr Spain said.
"The Prime Minister, the other day, claimed that Australia
was a land without class distinction. We know how wrong he is. We
know not only what happens here, but we have reports about other
Australians in Western Australia.
In two wars, in industrial and primary development we have shown
that we have courage, initiative, skill and leadership.
I can only join with Doug Nicholls in asking "When we have
all these things - is the little matter of doing justice to our
relatively few Aboriginals too big a task us?
Surely it would be rubbish to suggest such a thing."(Applause.)
"This afternoon shows that this is a cause which has caught
the imagination of the people," Cr. Spain said
"Let us hope this is the beginning of wiping a blot off our
splendid record."
Exert from The Northcote Leader - Jan 30th 1957
References
‘The Northcote Side of the River’ - by Andrew Lemon
‘The Boy from Cumeroogunga’ - by Mavis Thorpe Clarke
