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John Newfong
John Newfong (3 November 1943 – 30 May 1999) was an Aboriginal Australian journalist and writer. A descendant of the Ngugi people of Moreton Bay, he was the first Aboriginal person to be employed as a journalist in the mainstream print media in Australia.
Newfong was born on 3 November[citation needed] 1943 in Wynnum, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. His father, Ben "Archie" Archibald Nu Fong, was a Queensland champion heavyweight boxer, and his mother, Edna Crouch, played in the Australian women's cricket team which played England in 1935.[better source needed]
Newfong's family moved to North Stradbroke Island but, when Newfong was five, the family returned to Wynnum, where he attended the local school,[citation needed] and later, Wynnum High School. After graduating in 1961, he wanted to study law; however, entrance to university at the time would only allow Aboriginal people to undertake education degrees to become teachers, and only if they chose to teach in a community. He instead worked in Mount Isa as a miner in 1965.[citation needed]
He also took a job in the ABC mailroom in Brisbane, worked as a proofreader, and wrote TV reviews for the Sydney Daily Mirror. He studied typography, graphic design and fashion.
Straight after leaving school, Newfong joined a student group and joined the Aboriginal Advancement League in Victoria.
Newfong was the campaign secretary for the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the state affiliate of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), in the lead-up to the 1967 referendum. He had joined the Queensland council in 1961, and was soon promoted to the federal council.[citation needed]
In 1970, he was elected as the national (general) secretary of FCAATSI and, in the same year was involved in protests against celebrating the bicentennial of Captain Cook's visit to Australia. He resigned from the FCAATSI position after a few months.
In 1972, Newfong was made the "chief spokesperson" for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra, where his media contacts and experience in the Canberra press corps were crucial in establishing a public image for the embassy. His political allies here included Gary Foley, Charles Perkins, Paul Coe, Isabel Coe, Gordon Briscoe and Chicka Dixon. Although he resided at the embassy, which was established as a land rights protest, from February until July and was quoted frequently in The Australian and overseas press, he is best remembered for his quote, "The Mission has come to town".
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John Newfong
John Newfong (3 November 1943 – 30 May 1999) was an Aboriginal Australian journalist and writer. A descendant of the Ngugi people of Moreton Bay, he was the first Aboriginal person to be employed as a journalist in the mainstream print media in Australia.
Newfong was born on 3 November[citation needed] 1943 in Wynnum, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. His father, Ben "Archie" Archibald Nu Fong, was a Queensland champion heavyweight boxer, and his mother, Edna Crouch, played in the Australian women's cricket team which played England in 1935.[better source needed]
Newfong's family moved to North Stradbroke Island but, when Newfong was five, the family returned to Wynnum, where he attended the local school,[citation needed] and later, Wynnum High School. After graduating in 1961, he wanted to study law; however, entrance to university at the time would only allow Aboriginal people to undertake education degrees to become teachers, and only if they chose to teach in a community. He instead worked in Mount Isa as a miner in 1965.[citation needed]
He also took a job in the ABC mailroom in Brisbane, worked as a proofreader, and wrote TV reviews for the Sydney Daily Mirror. He studied typography, graphic design and fashion.
Straight after leaving school, Newfong joined a student group and joined the Aboriginal Advancement League in Victoria.
Newfong was the campaign secretary for the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the state affiliate of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), in the lead-up to the 1967 referendum. He had joined the Queensland council in 1961, and was soon promoted to the federal council.[citation needed]
In 1970, he was elected as the national (general) secretary of FCAATSI and, in the same year was involved in protests against celebrating the bicentennial of Captain Cook's visit to Australia. He resigned from the FCAATSI position after a few months.
In 1972, Newfong was made the "chief spokesperson" for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra, where his media contacts and experience in the Canberra press corps were crucial in establishing a public image for the embassy. His political allies here included Gary Foley, Charles Perkins, Paul Coe, Isabel Coe, Gordon Briscoe and Chicka Dixon. Although he resided at the embassy, which was established as a land rights protest, from February until July and was quoted frequently in The Australian and overseas press, he is best remembered for his quote, "The Mission has come to town".