Joyce Clague

Joyce Clague MBE (born 22 July 1938) is an Australian political activist and Bundjalung elder.^[1] Her activism centers on social change for Indigenous Australians. She was influential in instigating the 1967 Constitutional Referendum and in the 1996 native title claim, known as Yaegl #1, which was settled in 2015.

Chronology

Clague was born in the town of Maclean, New South Wales.^[1] As a teenager, she studied nursing in Sydney. She met and became friends with leading members of the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship and became a member of the Aborigines Progressive Association.^[2] In 1960, she attended the third Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement conference at Newport, Sydney.^[2] She found encouragement in a visiting activist, Jack Horner.^[2]

She was influential in instigating the 1967 Constitutional Referendum. Following the 1967 referendum, she worked with musician Jimmy Little on a campaign to get Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll.^[3] In 1968, she stood for the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory,^[2] with her independent campaign encouraging the enrolment of 6500 Aboriginal people. She convened the Federation Council for Advancement of Aborigines (FCAATSI) in 1969.^[2] She was also appointed a representative of the World Churches Commission to Combat Racism. She was elected as Northern Territory state secretary at the 1972 FCAATSI conference.^[2] She also worked in the Office of the New South Wales Ombudsman as an assistant investigation officer. She was a founding member of and served two terms as the New South Wales Women's Advisory Council to the Premier.

In 1977, she was awarded the Member of the British Empire.^[2] Her father encouraged her to accept the honor on behalf of Aboriginal people. She refers to the MBE as More Black than Ever.^[4]

In the 1980s, she stood for preselection for Australian Labor Party seats in both houses of the Parliament of New South Wales. She was also a member of the Australian Republic Movement. Beginning in 1987, she was treasurer and member of the Metropolitan Land Council.

In November 1996, she and Della Walker lodged a native title claim, known as Yaegl #1, that encompasses a large stretch of the Clarence River and its tributaries, on behalf of the Yaegl people. This was successfully settled at a Federal Court of Australia consent determination hearing in 2015, ending what had been the oldest legal matter before the court.^[5][6]

The 2007 documentary When Colin Met Joyce concerns Clague's 40-year relationship with her husband Colin.^[7][8] She also appeared in the film about the 1967 referendum, Vote Yes for Aborigines.^[3]

Other

The Nungera Museum in Maclean, New South Wales was largely her initiative. After ending her involvement with the project, the museum ultimately failed.^[9]

References

1. Howitt, Richard (2011). "Knowing/Doing". A Companion to Social Geography. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4443-9520-4.
2. Extracts from an interview with Clague by Sue Taffe and Leanne Miller, 8 November 1996. The National Museum of Australia.
3. Peters-Little, Frances (2010). Passionate Histories: Myth, Memory and Indigenous Australia. Acton, A.C.T.: ANU E Press. pp. 80, 82–83. ISBN 978-1-921666-65-0.
4. Clague, Joyce (1993). Extracts from "Staying to the End". Glorious Age – Growing Older Gloriously. Artemis Publishing (Melbourne, Australia)
5. Adam Hourigan. 20-year native title process for Yaegl people ends in joy. Daily Examiner. 26th Jun 2015.
6. Clair Morton. Native title delays unfair as elders pass away: judge. Daily Examiner 26th Jun 2015
7. Larry Schwartz. Marriage tracked across race and time. The Age. August 7, 2008.
8. "When Colin met Joyce". Creative Spirits. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
9. Bolton, Lissant (2001). "The Object in View: Aborigines, Melanesians, and Museums". Emplaced Myth: Space, Narrative, and Knowledge in Aboriginal Australia and Papua New Guinea. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8248-2389-4.