Douglas Nicholls as Governor of South Australia. The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.

Pastor Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls, KCVO, OBE, (9 December 1906 - June 4, 1988^[1]) was an Australian Aborigine from the Yorta Yorta people of the Murray river region of New South Wales and Victoria. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic The Royal Victorian Order (RVO is a Dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms Created by Queen Victoria The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray" is Australia 's largest River. He was a professional athlete; a pastor and church planter with the Churches of Christ in Australia Christian movement; and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation. The Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name structure and doctrine within

He was Governor of South Australia from 1 December 1976 to 30 April 1977, when he resigned due to poor health. The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays

Education

Sir Douglas Nicholls was born on 1906 on the Cummeragunja mission in New South Wales. Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Cummeragunja Mission, or Cummeragunja Station, was an Australian Aboriginal mission established in 1881 on the New South Wales side of the Murray River

At Cummeragunja mission, schooling was provided to Grade 3 standard and strict religious principles were emphasised. When he was eight, he saw his 16-year-old sister Hilda forcibly taken from his family by the police and taken to the Cootamundra Training Home for Girls.

Employment

At 13 he worked with his uncle as a tar boy and general hand on sheep stations, and he lived with the shearers. A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a Ranch) in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising He worked hard and had a cheerful disposition. This annoyed one of the shearers so much that he challenged Doug to a fight, with the loser to hand over one week's pay (30 shillings - $3). The pound was the currency of Australia until 1966 It was subdivided into 20 Shillings each of 12 pence. The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas After six rounds the shearer who challenged him conceded defeat.

Sportsman

Northcote Football Club's 1929 premiership side. The Northcote Football Club were an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987 Doug Nicholls is second from right, front row.

He played Australian rules football. Australian (rules football, or simply known as football, footy or Aussie rules, is a Team sport played between two teams of 18 players He was recruited by the Carlton Football Club in the VFL but did not play because of the racist attitude of the other players. Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues, is the third oldest club in the Australian Football League and one of the oldest Australian rules football History The Victorian Football Association (VFA was founded in 1877 on 17 May. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that From there he played for the struggling Northcote Football Club (now Richmond Central Amateur Football Club) for five years and was a member of their 1929 premiership team. The Northcote Football Club were an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987 Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In 1932 Doug joined Fitzroy Football Club where he was the first Aboriginal player to be selected to play for the Victorian Interstate Team in 1935. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Fitzroy Football Club, most recently nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Knee injuries forced him to retire in 1939, and he was back at Northcote as a non-playing coach in 1940 . Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Coach (baseball|Coach (basketball|Coach (ice hockeyIn Sports a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction instruction and training of the operations Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Playing football provided employment during the winter. To earn a living during the rest of the year, he boxed with Jimmy Sharman's Boxing Troupe, a travelling sideshow in which Sharman offered his fighters for challenge against all comers. Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, James ("Jimmy" Sharman senior ( 20 June 1887 &ndash 18 November 1965) and junior (1912 &ndash 24 April 2006

He also made money in running races and in 1928 won the Waracknabeal Gift. Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Following this, the race organisers paid him an appearance fee, board and expenses to enter races. He was the inaugural chairman of the National Aboriginal Sports Foundation.

Community work and Christian ministry

He was a minister and social worker with Aboriginal people. Social work is a discipline involving the application of Social theory and research methods to study and improve the lives of people groups and societies This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law Following his mother's death he took a renewed interest in Christianity and was baptised at Northocte Church of Christ (now Northern Community Church of Christ) in 1935 he was conducting church and hymn services as a lay preacher at the Gore St. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In religious organizations the laity comprises all persons who are not Clergy. Mission Centre in Fitzroy. Fitzroy (sometimes referred to as South Fitzroy is an Inner city Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In 1941 he received his call-up notice and he joined the 29th Battalion but in 1942, at the request of the Fitzroy police, he was released from his unit to work as a social worker in the Fitzroy Aboriginal community. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Social work is a discipline involving the application of Social theory and research methods to study and improve the lives of people groups and societies He cared for those trapped in alcohol abuse, gambling and other social problems. Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the use of Alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences He helped those who were in trouble with the police.

Indigenous people gathered to him and eventually the group was so large that he became the pastor of the first Aboriginal Church of Christ in Australia. The Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia In recognition of the ministry he was already expressing he was ordained as a minister of the Gospel.

In 1957 he became a field officer for the Aborigines Advancement League. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Aborigines Advancement League (also known as the Aboriginal Advancement League) is the oldest Aboriginal organisation in Australia. He edited their magazine, Smoke Signals, and helped draw Aboriginal issues to the attention of Government officials and the general public. He pleaded for dignity for Aboriginal people as human beings. Support for the AAL grew rapidily.

He helped set up hostels for Aboriginal children, holiday homes for Aboriginal people at Queenscliff and was a founding member and Victorian Secretary of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria Australia and is bounded on its north side

In 1968 he became a member of the new Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Victoria. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Nicholls was an active Freemason^[2]

Family

Doug Nicholls married Gladys Nicholls in December 1942, after Gladys' first husband, Howard Herbert Nicholls (1905-1942), had died in April 1942 as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. The widowed Gladys had three children. Howard, Doug's brother, had married Gladys in 1927. Doug and Gladys were married for 39 years, and raised their combined six children, two sons Bevan and Ralph and four daughters Beryl, Nora, Lilian and Pamela^[2].

Recognition

Statue, Parliament Gardens, Fitzroy, Victoria

• 1957 - he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Fitzroy (sometimes referred to as South Fitzroy is an Inner city Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.
• 1962 - he was chosen by the Father's Day Council of Australia as Victoria's Father of the Year for "outstanding leadership in youth and welfare work and for the inspired example he set the community in his unfailing efforts to further the cause of the Australian Aborigine". Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• 1968 - he was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
• 1968 - he met Pope Paul VI at the Ecumenical Conference held in Melbourne
• 1970 - he was among Victoria's invited guests to greet Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Australia. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pope Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II
• 1972 - he became the first Aboriginal person to be knighted and he and his wife Gladys travelled to London to receive that honour. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• 1973 - appointed King of Moomba. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. For the fictional creature from the Final Fantasy series see Races of Final Fantasy. ^[3]
• 1 December 1976, Sir Doug Nicholls was appointed as the 28th Governor of South Australia, the first Aboriginal person appointed to vice-regal office
• 1991 - the Canberra suburb of Nicholls was named after him. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Nicholls is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin.
• 2003 - the new chapel of Northern Community Church of Christ in Preston is named after him. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
• 2006 - proposal accepted for a statue to honour Sir Douglas and Lady Gladys Nicholls, sited in the Parliament Gardens, corner of Nicholson Street and Albert Street, Fitzroy, beside the Parliament of Victoria^[4]; 1. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 5 times life size statues by Louis Laumen and etching artwork into bluestone by Ngarra Murray, officially opened in December 2007^[5].

Passing

He died in 1988 after a stroke. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) A State Funeral was held for him and he was buried in the cemetery at Cummeragunja. A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony held to honour Heads of state or other important people of national significance

References

External links

• Source: Biography of Sir Douglas Nicholls (Pastor)
• Biography of Douglas Nicholls at Darebin Ethnic Communities Council site
• ABC Mission Voices - Cummeragunja. Koorie Heritage Trust