Faith Bandler
Encyclopedia
Faith Bandler, AC
(born 27 September 1918) also known as Ida Lessing Faith Mussing is an Australia
n civil rights activist of South Sea Islander
heritage. She is a campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians
and South Sea Islanders. Bandler is best known for her leadership in the campaign for the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal Australians
. Bandler is a native of Tumbulgum
, New South Wales
. A 1993 portrait of Bandler, by artist Margaret Woodward, is held by the State Library of New South Wales
.
from Ambrym Island, part of Vanuatu
, in 1883, at the age of about 13. He was then sent to Mackay
, Queensland
before being sent to work on a sugar cane plantation. He later escaped and married Bandler's mother, a Scottish
-India
n woman from New South Wales
. Bandler cites stories of her father's harsh experience as a slave labourer as a strong motivation for her activism. Bandler grew up with her family on a farm near Murwillumbah
, New South Wales. Her father died in 1924, when Bandler was just five years old. In 1934, Bandler left school and moved to Sydney
, where she worked as a dressmaker
's apprentice.
, Bandler and her sister Kath served in the Australian Women's Land Army
, working on fruit farms. Bandler and Indigenous workers received less pay than white workers, and after being discharged in 1945, she started to campaign for equal pay for Indigenous workers. After the war, Bandler moved to the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross
. In 1952, she married Hans Bandler, a Jewish refugee
from Vienna
, Austria
and lived in Frenchs Forest
. During the war, Hans had been interred in the Nazi
labor camp
s. The couple had a daughter, Lilon, born in 1954, and a fostered Aboriginal Australian son, Peter (Manual Armstrong). Hans died in 2009.
In 1956, Bandler became a full-time activist, becoming involved in the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), which was formed in 1957. During this period, Bandler worked with her mentors Pearl Gibbs
and Jessie Street
. As general secretary of FCAATSI, Bandler led the campaign for a constitutional referendum
to remove discriminatory provisions from the Constitution of Australia
. The campaign, which included several massive petition
s and hundreds of public meetings arranged by Bandler, resulted in the 1967 referendum
being put to the people by the Holt government
. The referendum succeeded in all six states
, attracting nearly 91 percent support across the country, the highest amount of support for any referendum before or since.
, this campaign was more challenging than the FCAATSI campaign for the 1967 referendum, since Bandler was fighting on two fronts. Not only was she battling historians who insisted that the blackbirded South Sea Islanders were actually voluntary indentured servant
s, but she was also to some extent ostracised by Indigenous Australians in the Australian civil rights movement, due to the increasing influence of separatist
Black Power
ideology. In 1975, Bandler visited Ambryn Island, where her father had been kidnapped 92 years before. Throughout the 1970s, Bandler was also a prominent member of the Women's Electoral Lobby
in New South Wales.
Published works
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 27 September 1918) also known as Ida Lessing Faith Mussing is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n civil rights activist of South Sea Islander
South Sea Islander
The Australian label South Sea Islanders refers to the Australian descendants of people from the more than 80 islands in the Western Pacific including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in Melanesia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Rotuma and Tuvalu in Polynesia and Micronesia who were...
heritage. She is a campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and South Sea Islanders. Bandler is best known for her leadership in the campaign for the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal Australians
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
. Bandler is a native of Tumbulgum
Tumbulgum
Tumbulgum is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Tweed Shire local government area, at the confluence of the Rous and Tweed Rivers, north east of the state capital, Sydney and south east of Brisbane...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. A 1993 portrait of Bandler, by artist Margaret Woodward, is held by the State Library of New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
.
Personal background
Bandler's father, Peter Mussing, had been blackbirdedBlackbirding
Blackbirding is a term that refers to recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. From the 1860s blackbirding ships were engaged in seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru...
from Ambrym Island, part of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, in 1883, at the age of about 13. He was then sent to Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
before being sent to work on a sugar cane plantation. He later escaped and married Bandler's mother, a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n woman from New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Bandler cites stories of her father's harsh experience as a slave labourer as a strong motivation for her activism. Bandler grew up with her family on a farm near Murwillumbah
Murwillumbah, New South Wales
Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a...
, New South Wales. Her father died in 1924, when Bandler was just five years old. In 1934, Bandler left school and moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where she worked as a dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
's apprentice.
Community activism
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bandler and her sister Kath served in the Australian Women's Land Army
Women's Land Army
The Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
, working on fruit farms. Bandler and Indigenous workers received less pay than white workers, and after being discharged in 1945, she started to campaign for equal pay for Indigenous workers. After the war, Bandler moved to the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
. In 1952, she married Hans Bandler, a Jewish refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and lived in Frenchs Forest
Frenchs Forest, New South Wales
-Commercial areas:Forestway shopping centre is at the intersection of Forestway and Warringah Roads. During the 1960s and 1970s, this centre had the name Arndale...
. During the war, Hans had been interred in the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s. The couple had a daughter, Lilon, born in 1954, and a fostered Aboriginal Australian son, Peter (Manual Armstrong). Hans died in 2009.
In 1956, Bandler became a full-time activist, becoming involved in the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), which was formed in 1957. During this period, Bandler worked with her mentors Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Gibbs was an Indigenous Australian activist, and the most prominent female activist within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century...
and Jessie Street
Jessie Street
Jessie Mary Grey Street was an Australian suffragette, feminist and human rights campaigner....
. As general secretary of FCAATSI, Bandler led the campaign for a constitutional referendum
Referendums in Australia
In Australia, referendums are binding polls usually used to alter the Constitution of the Commonwealth or a state or territory. Non-binding polls are usually referred to as plebiscites.-Federal referendums:...
to remove discriminatory provisions from the Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
. The campaign, which included several massive petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s and hundreds of public meetings arranged by Bandler, resulted in the 1967 referendum
Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1967, which became law on 10 August 1967 following the results of the referendum...
being put to the people by the Holt government
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
. The referendum succeeded in all six states
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
, attracting nearly 91 percent support across the country, the highest amount of support for any referendum before or since.
Honors and awards
- appointed a Member of the Order of AustraliaOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AM) on 11 June 1984, in recognition of her service to Aboriginal welfare - awarded an honorary doctorateHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from Macquarie UniversityMacquarie UniversityMacquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
in 1994 - awarded the Human Rights MedalHuman Rights Medal (Australia)The Human Rights Medal is awarded by the Australian Human Rights Commission each year. It was established in 1987 by the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to recognise the "contribution to Australian society of a wide variety of men and women committed to issues of human rights,...
by the National Trust of AustraliaNational Trust of AustraliaThe Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage.... - named as one of the 100 inaugural Australian Living TreasuresAustralian Living TreasuresAustralian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
by the National Trust of AustraliaNational Trust of AustraliaThe Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage.... - appointed as a Companion of the Order of AustraliaOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AC) on 26 January 2009 (Australia DayAustralia DayAustralia Day is the official national day of Australia...
)
Publishing
In 1974, Bandler started working on four books, two histories of the 1967 referendum, an account of her brother's life in New South Wales, and a novel about her father's experience of blackbirding in Queensland. Beginning in 1974, she also started campaigning for the rights of South Sea Islander Australians. According to Bandler's biographer, feminist writer and historian Marilyn LakeMarilyn Lake
Marilyn Lake is an Australian historian known for her work on the effects of the military and war on Australian civil society, the political history of Australian women and Australian racism including the White Australia Policy and the movement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander human rights...
, this campaign was more challenging than the FCAATSI campaign for the 1967 referendum, since Bandler was fighting on two fronts. Not only was she battling historians who insisted that the blackbirded South Sea Islanders were actually voluntary indentured servant
Indentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
s, but she was also to some extent ostracised by Indigenous Australians in the Australian civil rights movement, due to the increasing influence of separatist
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
ideology. In 1975, Bandler visited Ambryn Island, where her father had been kidnapped 92 years before. Throughout the 1970s, Bandler was also a prominent member of the Women's Electoral Lobby
Women's Electoral Lobby
WEL is credited with major achievements for women in Australia in relation to anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation, equal pay decisions, the funding of women’s and children’s services.....
in New South Wales.
Published works