Introduction
William Cooper was one of the most remarkable Aboriginal political figures in twentieth-century Australia. He and the organisation he founded, the Australian Aborigines’ League, broke new ground by campaigning for the rights of Aboriginal people throughout the country. In fighting against the injustices that indigenous people had suffered since the beginning of British colonisation, Cooper and the League petitioned the British king for representation of Aboriginal people in parliament, called for a day of mourning after 150 years of colonisation, supported the walk-off of their people from Cumeroogunga reserve, and opposed the establishment of an Aboriginal regiment at the beginning of the Second World War.
