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{{Short description|Aboriginal Australian activist}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
[[File:Dexter Daniels.jpg|thumb|Dexter Daniels, 1970]]
[[File:Dexter Daniels addressing Sydney unionists, October 1966.jpg|thumb|Dexter Daniels addressing Sydney unionists, October 1966]]
'''Dexter Daniels''' or '''Nubuluna''' ({{circa|1938}} -– c.199024 December 1999) was a Numamurdirdi (Yugul Mangi) man from [[Arnhem Land|south-east Arnhem Land]] and pioneering activist in the struggle for [[Aboriginal Australian|Aboriginal]] rights and [[land rights]] in Australia]] during the 1960s and 1970s. Daniels came to public attention as the breakaway Aboriginal Organiser of the [[North Australian Workers' Union]] (NAWU) in 1966 and was integral in supporting the [[Wave Hill walk-off]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |Wavetitle=Biography Hill- Dexter Daniels Walk-off]] Indigenous Australia |url=https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/daniels-dexter-30057 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=ia.anu.edu.au}}</ref>
 
==Early life==
Daniels was born at the [[Roper River Mission]] in the [[Northern Territory]] of Australia. This was run by the [[Church Mission Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roper River Mission - Summary {{!}} Find & Connect |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nt/YE00010 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.findandconnect.gov.au}}</ref> He was the son of Ukamangara (known as Debra) and Jangridpa (known as Dan) and he was one of seven children. His mother worked at the mission and he attended school there; as policy dictated Daniels was required to live in a dormitory, separate to his parents.<ref name=":0" />
Daniels was a Numadiddi man born at the Roper River Church Missionary Society mission at [[Roper River]], in the [[Northern Territory]] of Australia. Established in 1908, it brought together the remaining fragments of groups previously occupying a wide area of the Roper basin and South East Arnhem Land. Daniels was one of many Indigenous activists from the Roper Mission who went on to become deeply involved in social and political struggles in the Northern Territory. They included the Roberts brothers, Clancy, Jacob and Phillip and Dexter Daniels and his brother Davis.<ref name="thatsnotright">{{cite web|last1=Kimber|first1=Julie|title='That's not right': Indigenous politics, Dexter Daniels and 1968|url=https://labourhistorycanberra.org/2015/02/2011-asslh-conference-thats-not-right-indigenous-politics-dexter-daniels-and-1968/|website=ASSLH conference|publisher=Australian Society for the Study of Labour History|accessdate=5 July 2017|date=2011}}</ref> "That's not right" was a response of which Daniels was "very fond" when discussing injustices.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hardy|first1=Frank|title=The unlucky Australians|date=1972|publisher=Gold Star Publications|location=Hawthorn, Australia|isbn=978-0726000126|edition=[2nd ed. rev.|accessdate=5 July 2017}}</ref>▼
 
After completing his schooling Daniels worked as a stockman at [[Oenpelli|Oenpelli Mission]] and then moved to [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] where he worked at the airport washing planes and then as an orderly at Darwin Hospital. In 1962 he married Ruth Wurramara (Wardunggu) and they had one daughter named Muriel.<ref name=":0" />
 
In late 1964 he travelled to [[Kenya]] with [[Phillip Waipuldanya Roberts]] to study their move for independence and this trip deeply influenced him and fed into a strong vision for Aboriginal equality and sovereignty.  Following this trip, in 1965, he began working as an Aboriginal Organiser of the North Australian Workers' Union.<ref name=":0" />
 
▲Daniels was a Numadiddi man born at the Roper River Church Missionary Society mission at [[Roper River]], in the [[Northern Territory]] of Australia. Established in 1908, it brought together the remaining fragments of groups previously occupying a wide area of the Roper basin and South East Arnhem Land. Daniels was one of many Indigenous activists from the Roper Mission who went on to become deeply involved in social and political struggles in the Northern Territory. They included the Roberts brothers, Clancy, Jacob and Phillip and Dexter Daniels and his brother Davis.<ref name="thatsnotright">{{cite web|last1=Kimber|first1=Julie|title='That's not right': Indigenous politics, Dexter Daniels and 1968|url=https://labourhistorycanberra.org/2015/02/2011-asslh-conference-thats-not-right-indigenous-politics-dexter-daniels-and-1968/|website=ASSLH conference|publisher=Australian Society for the Study of Labour History|accessdate=5 July 2017|date=2011}}</ref> "That's not right" was a response of which Daniels was "very fond" when discussing injustices.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hardy|first1=Frank|title=The unlucky Australians|date=1972|publisher=Gold Star Publications|location=Hawthorn, Australia|isbn=978-0726000126|edition=[2nd ed. rev.|accessdate=5 July 2017}}</ref>
 
==The Wave Hill walk-off==
[[Wave Hill Station]] is a pastoral station which was run by British Pastoralpastoral Companycompany [[Vesteys]]. It employed many local [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal people]], mostly [[Gurindji people|Gurindji]]. Conditions on the station for Aboriginal people were very poor. Their wages were not equal to those paid to non-Aboriginal employees and were often controlled. While an effort to introduce equal wages for Aboriginal workers was made in 1965, the [[Conciliation and Arbitration Commission]] decided to delay the payment of award wages for Aboriginal people in the cattle industry until 1968.<ref name="Archives">{{cite web|title=The Wave Hill 'walk-off' – Fact sheet 224|url=http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs224.aspx|website=National Archive of Australia|publisher=National Archive of Australia|accessdate=5 July 2017}}</ref>
 
Spurred into action by this delay, Daniels sought backing from NAWU to support a strike by Aboriginal pastoral workers across the Northern Territory. His preliminary contact with workers in the [[Barkly Tableland]]s of the Territory resulted in Aboriginal workers leaving Newcastle Waters and Helen Springs [[cattle stationsstation]]s in April 1966.<ref name="CW Book">{{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=Charlie|title=A Handful of Sand: the Gurindji Struggle After the Walk-off|date=Aug 2016|publisher=Monash University Publishing|accessdate=5 July 2017}}</ref> NAWU's Northern Territory Secretary Paddy Carroll refused to support a Territoryterritory-wide strike on practical grounds, however. Daniels then sought and obtained backing from the Northern Territory Council of Aboriginal Rights, and traveledtravelled to [[Wave Hill Station]] with Communist and Waterside Worker [[Brian Manning (trade unionist and activist)|Brian Manning]] and [[Tiwi people|Tiwi]] actor [[Robert Tudawali]]. The support offered by Daniels and the NTCAR to [[Vincent Lingiari]], leader of the Gurindji people, encouraged Lingiari to undertake hethe protest action that became known as the Wave Hill Walkwalk-off, on 23 August 1966.{{cn|date=December 2019}}
 
The 1973 documentary film ''The Unlucky Australians'' by British director [[John Goldschmidt]] featured Daniels in a reconstruction of the Wave Hill walk-off. The film was narrated by [[Frank Hardy]], who had championed the Gurindji cause.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Unlucky Australians - Documentary finally gets a TV premiere | website=TV Blackbox | date=17 August 2017 | url=https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2017/08/17/2017-8-16-the-unlucky-australians/ | access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref>
 
==General activism==
After the Wave Hill Walk-off, Daniels traveledtravelled to [[Sydney]] on a speaking tour with [[Gurindji people|Gurindji]] elder Lupngagiari (Captain Major). His advocacy and confidence quickly made Daniels a well-known and controversial figure among NT pastoralists and conservative politicians. In 1967, Daniels was arrested upon his return to his home community on a vagrancy charge. The charge was subsequently shown to have no basis and was dismissed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kimber|first1=Julie|title=A Right to be Troublesome: the Arrest of Dexter Daniels and the Politics of Vagrancy Laws|journal=Labour History in the New Century|date=2009|pagepages=167-180167–180}}</ref> In 1968 he flew to Bulgaria as a guest of the Communist Party of Australia to attend an international gathering of young leaders.
 
During the later 1960s and early '70s1970s, Daniels again traveled interstate, leading numerous demonstrations and speaking at rallies for Aboriginal Land Rights in Sydney and Melbourne. Daniels lobbied for the land rights of his own and neighbouring clans also.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237356348 |title=SupportYou forcan Roperhelp Riverus Landget Fight|publisher=Northernour Territoryland News|date=24hack, February 1970}}</ref>says Daniels lobbied|newspaper=[[Tribune for(Sydney thenewspaper)|Tribune]] land|issue=1565 rights|location=Sydney of|date=3 hisJuly own1968 and|accessdate=12 neighbouringJuly clans2017 also.|page=12 After|via=National the awardLibrary of aAustralia}}</ref><ref>{{cite pastoralnews|title=Support leasefor toRoper theRiver GurindjiLand people,Fight|publisher=Northern heTerritory livedNews|date=24 amongFebruary them1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite atnews [[Kalkaringi]]|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237503858 in|title=Backed 1975-76.Aborigines Landon Sand rights over|newspaper=[[Tribune his(Sydney ownnewspaper)|Tribune]] country|issue=1649 was|location=Sydney awarded|date=1 automaticallyApril as1970 an|accessdate=12 existingJuly Aboriginal2017 reserve|page=12 by|via=National theLibrary Whitlamof Government.Australia}}</ref>
 
In April 1968, Daniels was arrested for vagrancy and sentenced to 14 days jail. He appealed the conviction and won.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107046332 |title=Dexter Daniels found not guilty |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=42 |issue=11,972 |date=11 April 1968 |accessdate=12 July 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107035904 |title=Surprise move releases Dexter Daniels |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=42 |issue=11,866 |date=8 December 1967 |accessdate=12 July 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In July the same year, Dexter attended the [[World Festival of Youth and Students|World Youth Festival]] in [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]] as a guest of the Communist Party of Australia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107058699 |title=Dexter Daniels to attend festival |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=42 |issue=12,032 |date=20 June 1968 |accessdate=12 July 2017 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name="thatsnotright" />
In July 1968, Dexter attended the [[World Festival of Youth and Students|World Youth Festival]] in [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]].<ref name="thatsnotright" />
 
After the award of a pastoral lease to the Gurindji people in 1973,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136966481 |title=Special lease granted to Gurindji |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=47 |issue=13,386 |date=19 March 1973 |accessdate=12 July 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> he lived among them at [[Kalkaringi]] in 1975–76. Land rights over his own country was awarded automatically as an existing [[Aboriginal reserve]] by the [[Whitlam government]].
 
==Later life==
In his later years Daniels lived at [[Bagot Aboriginal Reserve]] before returning to live at [[Ngukurr]] in 1988. He died on 24 December 1999 in [[Katherine, Northern Territory|Katherine]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gosford|first1=Bob|title=Wave Hill, Communists and a Bedford two-tonner. An interview with Brian Manning|url=https://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2016/08/19/wave-hill-communists-bedford-two-tonner-interview-brian-manning/|website=Crikey|accessdate=11 July 2017|date=19 August 2016}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
Daniels died in the 1990s in [[Katherine, Northern Territory|Katherine]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
 
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Dexter}}
[[Category:1990s1938 deathsbirths]]▼
[[Category:People from the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Australian indigenous rights activists]]
[[Category:19381999 birthsdeaths]]
▲[[Category:1990s deaths]]
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