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Charles Frederick Maynard

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Fred Maynard
Born
Charles Frederick Maynard

(1879-07-04)4 July 1879
Hinton, New South Wales, Australia
Died9 September 1946(1946-09-09) (aged 67)
Rydalmere, Sydney, New South Wales
Burial placeRookwood Cemetery
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Indigenous activist; unionist
Known forFounder of the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association

Charles Frederick Maynard (4 July 1879 – 9 September 1946) was an Aboriginal Australian activist who advocated for land rights, citizenship and equal rights for Aboriginal Australian people. He is known for being the founder of the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) in Sydney, New South Wales.

Early life

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Fred Maynard was born on 4 July 1879, the third child of William Maynard, an English labourer, and Mary Maynard (née Phillips), an Aboriginal woman of Worimi and French-Mauritian descent.[1] Mary Maynard died during childbirth in 1884, after which Fred and his brother Arthur were taken by a Protestant minister, who forced them to work long days, beat them, and housed them in a stable. However, during this time Maynard learned to read and the minister gave them access to his library.[2][3]

In his early teens, Maynard and his brother escaped the minister and moved to their sister's home in Sydney. From this point, Maynard travelled extensively, working a number of different jobs: photographer, gardener, drover and bullock driver.[citation needed]

Political activism and the AAPA

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In 1907, Maynard returned to Sydney, working as a wharf labourer in Woolloomooloo.[2] Here, Maynard was exposed to unionist ideas, joining the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia,[1] and came into contact with African American and Afro-Caribbeans who brought with them exciting new political ideas, in particular, those of Marcus Garvey, the leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.[4][5] He advocated for land rights, citizenship and equal rights for Aboriginal people.[6]

In February 1925, Maynard and Tom Lacey founded the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association, which advocated for the right of Aboriginal people to determine their own lives.[7] The decision to create this organisation was heavily influenced by Maynard's own experience of being torn from his land and family in his youth.[2] The Association wrote letters to newspapers and the Aboriginal Protection Board, and in 1927 petitioned the NSW Premier, Jack Lang, for the return of Aboriginal land.[7] During this period, Maynard travelled extensively around the NSW North Coast protesting the theft of Indigenous-held land.

The Association spread throughout New South Wales, with 13 active branches.[7] Maynard participated in public debates with public figures in opposition to changes to the administration of Aboriginal reserves.[8] Maynard's vocal and staunch opposition to the Aboriginal Protection Board led to a series of public statements by the Board in an attempt to discredit Maynard, which eventually led to the dissolution of the AAPA.[9]

Later life, death and legacy

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On 14 June 1928 Maynard married Minnie Critchley, a 32-year-old Englishwoman, with whom he had four children. He then lived life more privately, working to provide for his family.[1]

He was badly injured by an accident while working on the wharf, causing one of his legs to be broken in six places, and later amputated.[6] On 9 September 1946 Maynard died of diabetes mellitus at the Mental Hospital in Rydalmere, leaving his wife, two sons, and two daughters. He was buried in Rookwood Cemetery.[1]

One of Fred Maynard's two sons was renowned jockey Mervyn Maynard[1] (c. 1932-2017).[10] Merv's son is Professor John Maynard, an academic and historian specialising in Aboriginal history and the influence of early African-American politics on Aboriginal politics at the University of Newcastle,[11][12] where he is head of the Purai Global Indigenous History Centre.[13][14][15]

In addition to his contemporary impact on the efforts of the Aboriginal Protection Board to steal Aboriginal land, Maynard's vocal style of opposition has had a significant influence on successive generations of activists in NSW Indigenous communities.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Goodall, Heather; Maynard, John (15 March 2021). "Maynard, Charles Frederick (Fred) (1879–1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 3 October 2022. This article replaces the original Volume 15 ADB biography, authored by Heather Goodall.
  2. ^ a b c Maynard, John (2007). Fight for liberty and freedom: the origins of Australian Aboriginal activism. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 9780855755508.
  3. ^ "Aussie mavericks: Fred Maynard – Our first Aboriginal activist". The Big Smoke. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. ^ Maynard, John (2013). "Fred Maynard and Marcus Garvey: Storming the Urban Space". Exploring urban identities and histories (PDF). Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. pp. 153–159.
  5. ^ Maynard, John (2009). "'In the interests of our people': the influence of Garveyism on the rise of Australian Aboriginal political activism". Aboriginal History. 29: 1–22. JSTOR 24046685.
  6. ^ a b Maynard, John (1998). "Aboriginal stars of the pigskin". Aboriginal History. 22. ANU Press: 116–142. ISSN 0314-8769. JSTOR 24046163. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Australian Aborigines Progressive Association". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Australian Aborigines Progressive Association - Organisation". Find and Connect. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  9. ^ Maynard, John (1997). "Fred Maynard and the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA): One God, One Aim, One destiny" (PDF). Aboriginal History. 21: 11.
  10. ^ Callinan, Josh (13 April 2017). "Maynard remembered as trail blazing jockey of era". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Staff Profile: Professor John Meynard". University of Newcastle (Australia). 16 January 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Aborigines and the 'Sport of Kings': Aboriginal jockeys in Australian racing history (Third edition)". AIATSIS. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Purai - Global Indigenous History Centre". The University of Newcastle, Australia. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. ^ "People". The University of Newcastle, Australia. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Professor John Maynard / Staff Profile". The University of Newcastle, Australia. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  16. ^ "The Koori History Website". Retrieved 10 March 2017.

Further reading

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