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William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story
William Cooper's passionate struggle against the dispossession of Aboriginal people and the denial of their rights and his heroic fight for them to become citizens in their own country has been widely commemorated and celebrated. By carefully reconstructing the historical losses his Yorta Yorta people suffered and endured, William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story reveals how the first seventy years of Cooper's life inspired the remarkable political work he undertook in the 1930s. Focusing on Cooper's most important campaigns-his famous petition to the British king George for an Aboriginal representative in the Australian parliament, his call for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, the walk-off of the Yorta Yorta people from Cumeroogunga reserve in 1939 and his opposition to the establishment of an Aboriginal regiment in the Second World War-this carefully researched study sheds important new light on the long struggle that Indigenous people have fought to have the truth about Australia's black history heard and win representation in Australia's political order.
277 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2021
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49 people want to read
About the author
Bain Attwood
23 books3 followersBain Attwood is a professor of history at Monash University. He is the author of Empire and the Making of Native Title: Sovereignty, Property and Indigenous People, which compares Britain’s colonies in Australia and New Zealand. He holds both New Zealand and Australian citizenship.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 23, 2023
Who was William Cooper?
‘On Saturday 7 August 1937 an unusual event occurred. An Australian newspaper published a feature story about an Aboriginal man that was based on an interview one of its leading journalists had conducted with him.[…] The Aboriginal man was William Cooper.’
William Cooper (born in 1860 or 1861– died 29 March 1941) was a Yorta Yorta man, an Aboriginal Australian political activist and community leader. He was the first Aboriginal Australian the first to lead a national movement recognised by the Australian Government.
After reading a review of this book, I needed to read it for myself. I had not heard of William Cooper and knew nothing about his activism. This should have been part of the history I learned at school during the 1960s: much more relevant than the British monarchy, or John Macarthur’s single-handed (tongue-in-cheek) development of the Australian wool industry. While I am old enough to remember the 1967 Referendum (which sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), I naively thought that equal rights would follow. More than half a century later, I can only hope that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ referendum is passed later this year.
‘This book seeks to tell the story of William Cooper’s life and times, but it necessarily diverges from traditional biography to some degree. The historical sources an academic historian requires for such a study—extensive private papers that are created by the subject of the biography—simply do not exist.’
As I read about William Cooper’s life and campaigns, about his petition to King George V for an Aboriginal representative in the Australian parliament, his call for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, the walk-off of the Yorta Yorta people from Cumeroogunga reserve in 1939 and his opposition to the establishment of an Aboriginal regiment in the Second World War, I was filled with admiration. This self-taught man, full of dignity, campaigned tirelessly.
‘The rights that Cooper and his fellow Aboriginal campaigners mostly called for were the same rights that other Australians enjoyed—what they called ‘equal rights’ or ‘citizenship rights’—rather than Indigenous rights, which are the rights that only Indigenous people can claim on the basis of being the descendants of the country’s First People.’
The 1967 referendum went some way to providing citizenship rights, but more was needed then and is still needed. And then, there is this:
‘But what distinguished him [Cooper] from other campaigners was the fact that he called for Aboriginal political representation. He realised that historical difference meant that Aboriginal people saw the world differently: they thought black whereas whitefellas could not do this. This meant that in order to hear the Aboriginal voice the federal parliament had to agree to changes being made to the nation’s constitution.’
It is time!
If, like me, you have never heard of William Cooper, then I recommend reading this book.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
‘On Saturday 7 August 1937 an unusual event occurred. An Australian newspaper published a feature story about an Aboriginal man that was based on an interview one of its leading journalists had conducted with him.[…] The Aboriginal man was William Cooper.’
William Cooper (born in 1860 or 1861– died 29 March 1941) was a Yorta Yorta man, an Aboriginal Australian political activist and community leader. He was the first Aboriginal Australian the first to lead a national movement recognised by the Australian Government.
After reading a review of this book, I needed to read it for myself. I had not heard of William Cooper and knew nothing about his activism. This should have been part of the history I learned at school during the 1960s: much more relevant than the British monarchy, or John Macarthur’s single-handed (tongue-in-cheek) development of the Australian wool industry. While I am old enough to remember the 1967 Referendum (which sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), I naively thought that equal rights would follow. More than half a century later, I can only hope that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ referendum is passed later this year.
‘This book seeks to tell the story of William Cooper’s life and times, but it necessarily diverges from traditional biography to some degree. The historical sources an academic historian requires for such a study—extensive private papers that are created by the subject of the biography—simply do not exist.’
As I read about William Cooper’s life and campaigns, about his petition to King George V for an Aboriginal representative in the Australian parliament, his call for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, the walk-off of the Yorta Yorta people from Cumeroogunga reserve in 1939 and his opposition to the establishment of an Aboriginal regiment in the Second World War, I was filled with admiration. This self-taught man, full of dignity, campaigned tirelessly.
‘The rights that Cooper and his fellow Aboriginal campaigners mostly called for were the same rights that other Australians enjoyed—what they called ‘equal rights’ or ‘citizenship rights’—rather than Indigenous rights, which are the rights that only Indigenous people can claim on the basis of being the descendants of the country’s First People.’
The 1967 referendum went some way to providing citizenship rights, but more was needed then and is still needed. And then, there is this:
‘But what distinguished him [Cooper] from other campaigners was the fact that he called for Aboriginal political representation. He realised that historical difference meant that Aboriginal people saw the world differently: they thought black whereas whitefellas could not do this. This meant that in order to hear the Aboriginal voice the federal parliament had to agree to changes being made to the nation’s constitution.’
It is time!
If, like me, you have never heard of William Cooper, then I recommend reading this book.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
January 30, 2022
Atwood's prose is a bit dry, but Cooper's story, and the story of his context, is highly engaging. Thoroughly researched, this work shows that what indigenous australians are asking for now is no different to their requests even as far back as the 1880s! Reading this, i wonder how very different our country would have been if they had received what they'd asked for, all the way back then. What would our country look like with full equality and recognition for 140 years? Instead they were ignored, stymied by petty bureaucrats and the little men who held high office, and worn down by the mean spirited bosses and the general racism and paternalism of society. But Cooper didn't give up!
Nor did his compatriots. and yet there descendants are still fighting for what is theirs by right.
Particularly relevant as Cooper's story, and the story of his people, has deep links to my locality. Thankyou, Atwood.
Nor did his compatriots. and yet there descendants are still fighting for what is theirs by right.
Particularly relevant as Cooper's story, and the story of his people, has deep links to my locality. Thankyou, Atwood.
December 31, 2022
Unfortunately, I think that Australians may be more aware of African American political activists than they are of Indigenous Australian ones. William Cooper is now commemorated by an electoral district and a statue in Shepparton, but neither of these capture Cooper's contribution to Australian history - in fact, in some ways they do a disservice to it. William Cooper's attempt to have designated Aboriginal representation in Parliament never eventuated to this day, and the Shepparton statue commemorates an event which was only tangentially connected with his lifetime of Indigenous activism. The resolute, handsome face that stares out from the cover of Bain Attwood's book William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story should be instantly recognizable to us, but it is not.
August 24, 2022
As a reading experience, the first half of this book contains a steady narrative momentum as Attwood recounts Cooper’s life in Maloga and Coomeroogunga (near Echuca) up until his years of political activism in Melbourne. It makes for a helpful and personal setup. Cooper has a history, a family, a land. He is Yorta Yorta.
The narrative momentum certainly slows through the second half of the book, despite the fact that it is the part that deals with the work for which Cooper is remembered. It feels repetitive and I found I struggled to remain as engaged as I was earlier in the book. (I must say I wouldn’t have wanted the book to be too much longer - Attwood could well have lost me.)
But there was a message in my reading experience. Cooper’s own tireless advocacy for his people, honourable as it was, took on a repetitive air of futility as his efforts were so often met by ignorance, bureaucratic stalling, political indifference or just plainly and cruelly dismissed.
This great Australian lived in near poverty most of his life yet remained dedicated to seeking justice, representation and dignity for his First Nations kinsfolk. He was a committed Christian and his advocacy was driven and shaped around his faith.
His most notable achievement was his petitioning of King George V, collecting nearly 2000 signatures from aboriginal people across Australia as best he could. He was instrumental in establishing an Aboriginal day of mourning, coinciding with the 150 year celebration of colonisation. In 1938, he and others from the Australian Aboriginal’s League presented a petition to the German Consulate in Melbourne protesting Hitler’s treatment of the Jews. (Attwood is keen to dispel the myth surrounding this event which he believes has tended to eclipse what he considers are Cooper’s more significant endeavours related to justice and a voice for aboriginal people.)
Cooper’s resources were meagre. He was self-taught to read and write. His band of kin and supporters were small. The magnitude of his mission seemed often overwhelming. His achievements may have appeared insubstantial by his life’s end. His story is inspiring, unsettling, agonising.
All of which really gets to the heart of what makes it difficult to really rate or review this book. No question, William Cooper was a 5 star Australian. The fact that he lived largely in the margins, born into privation, living with limited resources means that, as Attwoood admits, source material is scant.
It is during his older years that documentation exists as his activism and correspondence generated the raw material evidence necessary to tell his story. In the absence of official records, Attwood necessarily relies on oral history, in some case four generations removed from Cooper. As an historian, there is great clarity and care in all Attwood delivers. As a storyteller, he (perhaps necessarily) lacks flourish.
Which has left me wondering if there is another - not necessarily better, just different - way to share Cooper’s story more widely. A semi-fictionalised, factual not actual, true not literal retelling - reimagining - of his life. The drama is certainly there. The themes are compelling - to this day. Cooper’s story - the First Nations story - is critical to our nationhood, black and white.
I feel that Attwood’s book is a gift, a valuable part of bringing Cooper’s life into focus. I expect not many will read the book. I’d be really interested to see (can’t believe I’m saying this!) what a Fitzsimmons would do to bring this tale to the people. Or, perhaps better still, a novelist. Or a filmmaker. Take some licence to land the emotion, not simply the facts.
Such a treatment could play a powerful part in not only Cooper’s legacy, but most wonderfully, in the realisation of his vision for the appropriate recognition of his kith and kin, now and into the future.
Cooper was passionate, measured, tireless, determined and faithful. His words remain compelling - that as the original inhabitants and owners of the land, the entire wealth of European Australia has been founded on what was theirs. What followed their dispossession was neither recognition, compensation or appreciation - in fact, the very opposite.
Although he died over 80 years ago, William Cooper’s dignified quest for First Nations representation in parliament, for equal opportunity and for self-determination speak powerfully into the present.
The narrative momentum certainly slows through the second half of the book, despite the fact that it is the part that deals with the work for which Cooper is remembered. It feels repetitive and I found I struggled to remain as engaged as I was earlier in the book. (I must say I wouldn’t have wanted the book to be too much longer - Attwood could well have lost me.)
But there was a message in my reading experience. Cooper’s own tireless advocacy for his people, honourable as it was, took on a repetitive air of futility as his efforts were so often met by ignorance, bureaucratic stalling, political indifference or just plainly and cruelly dismissed.
This great Australian lived in near poverty most of his life yet remained dedicated to seeking justice, representation and dignity for his First Nations kinsfolk. He was a committed Christian and his advocacy was driven and shaped around his faith.
His most notable achievement was his petitioning of King George V, collecting nearly 2000 signatures from aboriginal people across Australia as best he could. He was instrumental in establishing an Aboriginal day of mourning, coinciding with the 150 year celebration of colonisation. In 1938, he and others from the Australian Aboriginal’s League presented a petition to the German Consulate in Melbourne protesting Hitler’s treatment of the Jews. (Attwood is keen to dispel the myth surrounding this event which he believes has tended to eclipse what he considers are Cooper’s more significant endeavours related to justice and a voice for aboriginal people.)
Cooper’s resources were meagre. He was self-taught to read and write. His band of kin and supporters were small. The magnitude of his mission seemed often overwhelming. His achievements may have appeared insubstantial by his life’s end. His story is inspiring, unsettling, agonising.
All of which really gets to the heart of what makes it difficult to really rate or review this book. No question, William Cooper was a 5 star Australian. The fact that he lived largely in the margins, born into privation, living with limited resources means that, as Attwoood admits, source material is scant.
It is during his older years that documentation exists as his activism and correspondence generated the raw material evidence necessary to tell his story. In the absence of official records, Attwood necessarily relies on oral history, in some case four generations removed from Cooper. As an historian, there is great clarity and care in all Attwood delivers. As a storyteller, he (perhaps necessarily) lacks flourish.
Which has left me wondering if there is another - not necessarily better, just different - way to share Cooper’s story more widely. A semi-fictionalised, factual not actual, true not literal retelling - reimagining - of his life. The drama is certainly there. The themes are compelling - to this day. Cooper’s story - the First Nations story - is critical to our nationhood, black and white.
I feel that Attwood’s book is a gift, a valuable part of bringing Cooper’s life into focus. I expect not many will read the book. I’d be really interested to see (can’t believe I’m saying this!) what a Fitzsimmons would do to bring this tale to the people. Or, perhaps better still, a novelist. Or a filmmaker. Take some licence to land the emotion, not simply the facts.
Such a treatment could play a powerful part in not only Cooper’s legacy, but most wonderfully, in the realisation of his vision for the appropriate recognition of his kith and kin, now and into the future.
Cooper was passionate, measured, tireless, determined and faithful. His words remain compelling - that as the original inhabitants and owners of the land, the entire wealth of European Australia has been founded on what was theirs. What followed their dispossession was neither recognition, compensation or appreciation - in fact, the very opposite.
Although he died over 80 years ago, William Cooper’s dignified quest for First Nations representation in parliament, for equal opportunity and for self-determination speak powerfully into the present.
July 21, 2024
A very detailed account of the life of William Cooper. A lifelong activist for the rights of his people and the continuous fight for equality, land rights, well-being, a voice to parliament and recognition of the traditional owners of this land. He was a tenacious leader.
Having started reading this biography in 2023, the irony of Cooper's struggle and indeed the deep frustration and disappointment is mirrored in the 2023 referendum that denied a voice to the First Nations people in Australia.
I kept putting this book down to read others but I also kept on returning to continue gaining more understanding of why recognition was and is so important.
Having started reading this biography in 2023, the irony of Cooper's struggle and indeed the deep frustration and disappointment is mirrored in the 2023 referendum that denied a voice to the First Nations people in Australia.
I kept putting this book down to read others but I also kept on returning to continue gaining more understanding of why recognition was and is so important.
November 30, 2021
Professor of History Bain Attwood presents a meticulously researched biography of William Cooper to add to his list of published work on Aboriginal history. This tribute to a figure I have long admired provides a dramatic portrayal of Cooper, a political activist who fought throughout the 1930s for the recognition of Aboriginal rights in the country in which his people had been dispossessed and denied a voice in their own affairs. The first half of Attwood's book presents Cooper within the background of his early years - living on Cumeroogunga mission, converting to Christianity and being influenced by the Biblical stories and hopes that the religion provided, and seeing the hardships endured by his people in their struggle for just treatment by the State and Federal governments of Australia.
I found the second half of the book most impressive. Cooper's activism in seeking a voice within Parliament that could "think black" was at the centre of his campaign. And, he never varied from his position that the only person who could “think black” was an Aborigine. Arguing against the appointed white managers, "protectors", and government agencies that made all decisions for the Aboriginal population, Cooper argued for Aboriginal representation in Parliament, for citizenship and the rights that were provided with this decree, and for strides to be made to “uplift” the Aboriginal population in all areas of life in Australia.
I came to know about Cooper and the Aboriginal Advancement League through his protest to the German Consulate in 1938 against the persecution of Jews. Intriguingly, Attwood proposes that the story about this protest “misrepresents the League’s protest”. He does not diminish the strength of Cooper’s actions, but argues that it was “probably devised in large part in order to advance their own people’s cause. Consequently, its petition stated ‘Like the Jews, our people have suffered much cruelty, exploitation and misunderstanding as a minority at the hands of another race.’” Cooper apparently was inspired by the Biblical narrative that ultimately saw the Jews reach their promised land and remained inspired by this hope and “reward” through his life. The text powerfully portrays a man whom all Australians should honour.
I found the second half of the book most impressive. Cooper's activism in seeking a voice within Parliament that could "think black" was at the centre of his campaign. And, he never varied from his position that the only person who could “think black” was an Aborigine. Arguing against the appointed white managers, "protectors", and government agencies that made all decisions for the Aboriginal population, Cooper argued for Aboriginal representation in Parliament, for citizenship and the rights that were provided with this decree, and for strides to be made to “uplift” the Aboriginal population in all areas of life in Australia.
I came to know about Cooper and the Aboriginal Advancement League through his protest to the German Consulate in 1938 against the persecution of Jews. Intriguingly, Attwood proposes that the story about this protest “misrepresents the League’s protest”. He does not diminish the strength of Cooper’s actions, but argues that it was “probably devised in large part in order to advance their own people’s cause. Consequently, its petition stated ‘Like the Jews, our people have suffered much cruelty, exploitation and misunderstanding as a minority at the hands of another race.’” Cooper apparently was inspired by the Biblical narrative that ultimately saw the Jews reach their promised land and remained inspired by this hope and “reward” through his life. The text powerfully portrays a man whom all Australians should honour.
July 27, 2025
4 stars because of the content which is a must for all Australians to read, but writing is heavy going. Would have been helped by a Cooper family tree, a summary of the different aboriginal organisations and an index of the important people, all of which were hard to keep clear in your head.
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December 27, 2023This is an excellent book. Very informative and a book that every Australian should read.
February 28, 2024
Prose is a touch dry however the life story of William Cooper is highly engaging. Gives context to why his name is often mentioned in light of the Palestinian occupation.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews