1958 – Formation of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines (FCAA)

On 15 February 1958 representatives of “advancement groups” from Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, and South Australia met in Willard Hall, Adelaide, to form a national organisation to lobby government for Indigenous rights. The group was the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA - in 1964 renamed the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders - FCAATSI). Dr Charles Duguid, President of the South Australian Aborigines Advancement League, chaired the meeting.

Jeff Barnes of South Australia, Paster Doug Nicholls of Victoria and Bert Groves, President of the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship, were the Aboriginal delegates at the conference.

Federal Council Profiles No.1 - Our President;
FCAATSI Newsletter, Rights and Advancement, Jan 1967, No.5, p.1