Adventures with Agitators

by Paul Richards

Overview

Adventures with Agitators is a tribute to the resilience, determination, patience and tolerance of the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders of Queensland.

In a series of short yarns about their battles in the justice and political systems, this book exposes the cruelty and hypocrisy of the ruling elite of Australia in pursuing policies of segregation and marginalisation. While Australia pointed the finger at South Africa, it maintained the same policies for our Indigenous peoples.

The book is not a history, a biography or a legal or anthropological text. It is an easy read for those wanting to understand the recent past. The author has had the advantage of being privy to their tragedies and dramas – as well as their humour and humanity.

The word “agitator” was applied politically and judicially to any of them who sought justice. In a celebrated High Court case involving Percy Neal, Justice Lionel Murphy opined that, without agitators, “there would be no advance towards civilisation”.

These are stories of the adventures of these brave agitators, to share with people of good heart.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940155961987
Publisher:	Tellwell Talent
Publication date:	01/30/2019
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Paul Richards was born in Brisbane and taught by an education system that ignored the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history of Queensland.

As a law student, he wrote and directed in radical amateur theatre, which led to a chance meeting in 1968 with a powerful Nunukul family who educated him in that hidden history of Queensland.

Their revelations of the appalling treatment of Indigenous people caused him to engage in a career spanning half a century in the pursuit of their civil rights and land rights. Initially, he assisted the Brisbane Tribal Council, black theatre and the Black Panther Party. That led to an involvement in the foundation of the Aboriginal Legal Service in 1972.

In the following years he provided legal advice and representation to Indigenous people throughout Queensland in many aspects of the legal system. The later years of his career involved the pursuit of native title rights, which gave some recognition and rights to the First Nations of Queensland.

Retiring in 2015, he then began recording these significant stories of his experience in those battles.