Person
Unaipon, David (1872 - 1967)
Ngarrindjeri Elder
- Born
- 28 September 1872
Raukkan (Ngarrindjeri Nation), South Australia, Australia - Died
- 7 February 1967
Tailem Bend (Ngarrindjeri Nation), South Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Author, First Nations Leader and Inventor
- Alternative Names
- Ngunaitponi, David (Birth name)
Summary
David Ngunaitponi, known as David Unaipon, was a Ngarrindjeri Elder and Leader, preacher and inventor, and one of Australia's first Aboriginal writers. He developed and patented a modified handpiece for shearing in 1907 and made predictions about the development of polarised light and helicopter flight.
Details
Born Point McLeay Mission, South Australia, 28 September 1872. Died 7 February 1967. Servant 1885-90, Point McLeay Mission 1890-late 1890s (learned bootmaking), storeman for an Adelaide bootmaker, book-keeper, Point McLeay store, spent 50 years collecting subscriptions for the Aborigines' Friends' Association, combining this work with lectures and sermons, studied and published Aboriginal legends from the early 1920s, wrote articles from 1924 for the Sydney "Daily Telegraph", assisted the Bleakley inquiry into Aboriginal welfare 1928-29. Coronation medal 1953. Commemorated by portraits in the South Australian Museum, the national David Unaipon award for Aboriginal writers, established 1988, and the annual Unaipon lecture in Adelaide, established 1988.
Chronology
- 1912
- Political action - Called for Ngarrindjeri autonomy over Raukkan (the Point Macleay Reserve)
- 1926
- Political action - Called for the establishment of an Aboriginal state.
- 1934
- Political action - Urged the Commonwealth to take over Aboriginal affairs from the States.
Related entries
Archival resources
Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales
- 'Legendary Tales of Australian Aborigines' by David Unaipon, 1924-1925, 1924 - 1925, Mitchell Library reference code: 431534; Unaipon, David, 1872-1967; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
Published resources
Books
- McNiven, Ian J; and Russell, Lynette, Innovation: Knowledge and Ingenuity (Port Melbourne: Thames and Hudson, 2023), 256 pp. See pages: 148, 158-162. Details
- Smith, W. Ramsay, Myths & Legends of the Australian Aboriginals (London, Bombay and Sydney: George G. Harrap, 1930), 356 + 38 plates pp. Unaipon was the original author of this work. Details
- Unaipon, David, Native legends (Adelaide: Hunkin, Ellis & King, 1929), 15 pp. Details
- Unaipon, David, My life story (Adelaide: Aborigines Friendly Association, 1954), 6 pp. Details
- Unaipon, David: edited by Muecke, Stephen and Shoemaker, Adam, Legendary tales of the Australian Aborigines (Carlton, Vic.: Miegunyah Press, 2006), 232 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Jones, Philip, 'Unaipon, David (1872-1967), preacher, author and inventor' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 12: 1891 - 1939 Smy-Z, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), pp. 303-305. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120339b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Gunson, Niel, 'An interview with David Unaipon', Aboriginal History, 23 (1999), 111-116. http://doi.org/10.22459/AH.23.2011. Details
- Kropinyeri, Kym and Bowery, Kathy, 'David Unaipon, inventor', Australian Historical Studies, 54 (4) (2023), 794-815. https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2023.2189276. Details
- Leane, Jeanine, 'Biography: David Unaipon', Australian quarterly, 86 (1) (2015), 28-30, https://search.informit.org/doi/epdf/10.3316/agispt.20190516010447. Details
- Simons, Margaret, 'Nobody's hero', Eureka Street, 4 (4) (1994), 18-20. Details
- Trimmer, Karen; Gower, Graeme; and Lock, Graeme, 'Reinventing another Unaipon: Indigenous science leaders for the future', Australian journal of Indigenous education, 47 (2) (2017), 216-25, https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2017.14. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q939297. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/74075614. Details
- 'Unaipon, David (1872-1967)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-638876. Details
Resource Sections
- Unaipon, David, 'Patent specification. Mechanical motion. Sheep shears. No. 15,624, 1909. D. Unaipon, SA', in Australian official journal of patents, Australian Government Printer, Melbourne, 1910. https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/2845. Details
See also
- Davis, Megan; and Williams, George, Everything you need to know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart (Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2021), 234 pp. Details
Gavan McCarthy [P004098]
Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 6 October 2023