Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Vince Copley AI simulator
(@Vince Copley_simulator)
Hub AI
Vince Copley AI simulator
(@Vince Copley_simulator)
Vince Copley
Vincent Warrior Copley AM (born Vincent Gilbert Warrior; 24 December 1936 – 10 January 2022) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, elder, and leader.
Vincent Gilbert Copley, usually known as Vince, was born into poverty on a government mission, Point Pearce, in South Australia on 24 December 1936. He was primarily Ngadjuri, but also had Kaurna, Narungga, and Ngarrindjeri ancestry. Through his grandmother Maisie May Edwards (née Adams) Copley was descended from Kudnarto, a Kaurna woman who was the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry a white South Australian colonist on 27 January 1848, when she married Thomas Adams. Copley's mother was Katie Edwards; her parents were Joe and Maisie May (née Adams). Maisie was a great-granddaughter of Kudnarto. Vincent was born the youngest of five surviving children: Winnie, Josie, Colin (who died as a teenager), and Maureen. "Papa Joe" was a Narungga man, a grandson of King Tommy, an important man who negotiated with settlers on the Yorke Peninsula.
Copley's father was Frederick Warrior, the surname an anglicised form of his father's name, Barney Waria (1873-1948). Barney Waria was one of a few last initiated Ngadjuri men, and his stories were documented by anthropologist Ronald Berndt and his wife Catherine Berndt.
After his father had died when Vincent was just 2, at the age of 10 he was voluntarily taken by his mother (who died just five years later) to St Francis House in Semaphore South, a beachside suburb of Adelaide near Port Adelaide. There he was treated with kindness, sent to the local school, and met other future Aboriginal leaders and activists, including Charles Perkins, Gordon Briscoe, John Kundereri Moriarty, Richie Bray, Malcolm Cooper, and others. He became lifelong friends with Perkins, Briscoe, and Moriarty.
Several members of his family died prematurely, including his elder brother, Colin. Vince himself nearly died aged 15 of appendicitis, after hospitals in Ardrossan and Maitland refused to admit him. Fortunately, the hospital at Wallaroo did admit him and saved his life.
Copley spent some years living and working in country towns, which were known for their racism. He worked as a sheep shearer in Curramulka on the Yorke Peninsula, and was recruited to play Aussie rules football with the local team, which he took to the premiership in 1957, 1958 and 1959. There, he stayed with the Thomas family, who included his future wife Brenda. He was also a keen cricketer in his youth.
He also played with Port Adelaide Football Club, and won the H. W. Tomkins Memorial Medal, as "the fairest and most brilliant player in the Senior Colts" (South Australian National Football League under-19s) there in 1953. In 1960, he played a season with South Adelaide. He also played for Fitzroy in Victoria, and coached the Curramulka team for more than ten years.
In 1965 he joined Charlie Perkins and other Aboriginal activists, along with white students from New South Wales, on the Freedom Ride, to draw attention to segregationist policies and poor living conditions of Aboriginal people in the state.
Vince Copley
Vincent Warrior Copley AM (born Vincent Gilbert Warrior; 24 December 1936 – 10 January 2022) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, elder, and leader.
Vincent Gilbert Copley, usually known as Vince, was born into poverty on a government mission, Point Pearce, in South Australia on 24 December 1936. He was primarily Ngadjuri, but also had Kaurna, Narungga, and Ngarrindjeri ancestry. Through his grandmother Maisie May Edwards (née Adams) Copley was descended from Kudnarto, a Kaurna woman who was the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry a white South Australian colonist on 27 January 1848, when she married Thomas Adams. Copley's mother was Katie Edwards; her parents were Joe and Maisie May (née Adams). Maisie was a great-granddaughter of Kudnarto. Vincent was born the youngest of five surviving children: Winnie, Josie, Colin (who died as a teenager), and Maureen. "Papa Joe" was a Narungga man, a grandson of King Tommy, an important man who negotiated with settlers on the Yorke Peninsula.
Copley's father was Frederick Warrior, the surname an anglicised form of his father's name, Barney Waria (1873-1948). Barney Waria was one of a few last initiated Ngadjuri men, and his stories were documented by anthropologist Ronald Berndt and his wife Catherine Berndt.
After his father had died when Vincent was just 2, at the age of 10 he was voluntarily taken by his mother (who died just five years later) to St Francis House in Semaphore South, a beachside suburb of Adelaide near Port Adelaide. There he was treated with kindness, sent to the local school, and met other future Aboriginal leaders and activists, including Charles Perkins, Gordon Briscoe, John Kundereri Moriarty, Richie Bray, Malcolm Cooper, and others. He became lifelong friends with Perkins, Briscoe, and Moriarty.
Several members of his family died prematurely, including his elder brother, Colin. Vince himself nearly died aged 15 of appendicitis, after hospitals in Ardrossan and Maitland refused to admit him. Fortunately, the hospital at Wallaroo did admit him and saved his life.
Copley spent some years living and working in country towns, which were known for their racism. He worked as a sheep shearer in Curramulka on the Yorke Peninsula, and was recruited to play Aussie rules football with the local team, which he took to the premiership in 1957, 1958 and 1959. There, he stayed with the Thomas family, who included his future wife Brenda. He was also a keen cricketer in his youth.
He also played with Port Adelaide Football Club, and won the H. W. Tomkins Memorial Medal, as "the fairest and most brilliant player in the Senior Colts" (South Australian National Football League under-19s) there in 1953. In 1960, he played a season with South Adelaide. He also played for Fitzroy in Victoria, and coached the Curramulka team for more than ten years.
In 1965 he joined Charlie Perkins and other Aboriginal activists, along with white students from New South Wales, on the Freedom Ride, to draw attention to segregationist policies and poor living conditions of Aboriginal people in the state.