Fred Maynard: Aboriginal Patriot
Fred Maynard (1879-1946) was an Aboriginal activist and rights campaigner who, in 1925 Maynard
launched the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association. Initially, its office-bearers were all men
from the mid-north coast, except for McKenzie-Hatton who was organizing secretary. The group
protested against the revocation of north-coast farming reserves; they also demanded that children
no longer be separated from their families, or indentured as domestics and menial labourers. The
A.A.P.A. advocated that all Aboriginal families should receive inalienable grants of farming land
within their traditional country, that their children should have free entry to public schools, and that
Aborigines should control any administrative body affecting their lives.