Honoring the story of Sir Douglas Nicholls
Celebrate with us!
On Sunday, 16 September 2007, the family of Sir Douglas Nicholls, Australian Churches of Christ Indigenous Ministries, the Social Justice Network of the Churches of Christ Vic-Tas Conference, and Churches of Christ Theological College Community on the occasion of the College’s Centenary, are hosting An honouring of the story of Sir Douglas Nicholls… alongside an experience of reflection upon life’s journey.
Celebrate with us!
On Sunday, 16 September 2007, the family of Sir Douglas Nicholls, Australian Churches of Christ Indigenous Ministries, the Social Justice Network of the Churches of Christ Vic-Tas Conference, and Churches of Christ Theological College Community on the occasion of the College’s Centenary, are hosting An honouring of the story of Sir Douglas Nicholls… alongside an experience of reflection upon life’s journey.
Sir Douglas Nicholls: 101 years!
Preacher & Statesman,
Activist & Athlete
Highlights of the day will include… didgeridoo music, the unveiling of a portrait of Sir Douglas Nicholls which will hang permanently at CCTC and the official opening of the second CCTC Centenial Art Exhibit: “Reminiscence: Reflection upon Life’s Journey”, greetings from local and state politicians, and worship full of beloved hymns from the past.
In the midst of the scathing reports against the Australian government’s treatment of its Aboriginal citizens over the years, the Churches of Christ Theological College (CCTC) where we serve as chaplains is working to ensure that the legacy and ministry of those involved in the Aboriginal movement are recognized and remembered. Celebrating CCTC’s Centenary, the College is using this opportunity to both celebrate another centenary – the life of Sir Douglas Nicholls– and educate the community and church about this beloved minister in the Churches of Christ in Australia who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2006. On September 16, 2007, CCTC, with endorsement from the Nicholls family, the Australian Churches of Christ Aboriginal Ministries, and the Social Justice Network of the Churches of Chris, will honour Sir Douglas Nicholls.
CCTC Celebrates its Centenary… The College, started in 1907 in Glen Iris as the College of the Bible, continues to thrive as it serves the eastern suburbs of Melbourne from its current campus in Mulgrave. As part of the Melbourne College of Divinity, Churches of Christ Theological College maintains the highest level of academic excellence while pursuing the practical mission of preparing qualified candidates for the ministry.
Who was Sir Douglas Nicholls? 
In 1972 Sir Douglas was the first Aborigine to be honoured with a knighthood, made a Knight- Bachelor of the British Empire – Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls, O.B.E., M.B.E. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his work on Aboriginal issues, and later became Governor of South Australia. “He was another example of a person of Aboriginal descent who achieved greatness,” according to Australian D.R. Meagher QC.
Born in 1906 in Cumeroogunga, a New South Wales Aboriginal station, he started work as an unskilled labourer at age 14. Though slight in stature (5 foot 2 inches), Doug was an extraordinary athlete and became an Australian Rules footballer playing for the Fitzroy Footy Club in Melbourne. Pastor Doug started the Churches of Christ Aborigines Mission and served as “missioner.”
He returned from a visit to the Warburton Ranges in 1957 traumatized, saying, “My people are starving … everywhere we went they pleaded for food and water … I wish I hadn’t seen the pitiable squalor… never, never can I forget.” He travelled throughout the Victoria and Tasmania on lecture tours, most sponsored by churches, educating the Australian whites about the Aboriginal cause and “was in every street demonstration, deputation and public meeting, agitating, promoting and demanding a referendum on Aboriginal recognition and rights.” Pastor Doug was one of three Aborigines at the 1958 inauguration of the Australian Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement calling for citizenship and equal rights for Aborigines.
For many years Pastor Doug served as field officer for the Aborigines Advancement League, an organization that continues to provide a fighting force and education on behalf of the Aboriginal people of Australia. He was instrumental in persuading the National Multicultural Advisory Council to name the second Sunday in July a day of remembrance of Aboriginal people, now celebrated annually as “Sorry Day” in the midst of Reconciliation Week.
In a press interview after being named Victoria’s Father of the Year “for his outstanding leadership in youth welfare work and for the inspired example he has set the community in his unfailing efforts to further the cause of the Australian Aboriginal,” Doug said,
“I have no embittering personal experiences of racial prejudice. I have been encouraged by the white man….But for the underprivileged and misinterpreted of our race, I have tried to act as an interpreter. Our future is not a cold-blooded political matter, it is a question of humanitarian consideration.”
Some Australians are likening “Pastor Doug” to the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King. The Victorian State Parliament has approved the construction of a statue of Sir Douglas and his wife, Gladys, to stand in Parliament Gardens in Melbourne, to be unveiled in December.
Information cited from Pastor Doug: The Story of Sir Douglas Nicholls, Aboriginal Leader, by Mavis Thorpe Clark (Lansdowne Press:Melbourne, 1956).
For more information:
http://www.churchesofchristsocialjusticenetwork.blogspot.com/ Social Justice Network of Churches of Christ in Australia (Vic-Tas Conference)http://www.nativetitle.org/ Australian Native Title and Reconciliation: ANTaR http://www.nativetitle.aust.com/ Australians for Native Title http://www.reconciliation.org.au/ Reconciliation http://www.oxfam.org.au/ The health of Indigenous Australians is the worst in the developed world: demand Indigenous health equality by joining Oxfam’s campaign to CLOSE THE GAP. http://www.cctc.vic.edu.au/ Churches of Christ Theological College http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/heroes/nicholls.html Koori website with biography and photos of Sir Douglas Nicholls http://www.abc.net.au/missionvoices/cummeragunja/art_photos_videos/documentary_footage/default.htm documentary footage of Pastor Doug