Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains images of people who have passed away.
Sir Doug Nicholls lived an incredible life. He was born in 1906 at Cummeragunga on the land of his people, the Yorta Yorta people. His early life was lived under the power and control of the Aborigines Protection Board. As a young boy, he witnessed his sister’s forced removal by government authorities. At the age of 14 he left school, when the Aborigines Protection Board forced him to leave his home and find work as a labourer.
Sir Doug went on to play 54 games for Fitzroy and represented Victoria in the State of Origin, he was a brilliant all-round athlete. After his football career, Sir Doug went on to become a civil rights leader in Australia. He was a founding member of the Aborigines Advancement League in Victoria whose initial objectives were to achieve citizenship rights for Aborigines throughout the Commonwealth, to work towards the integration of Aboriginal people with the rest of the community, to attempt to co-ordinate the different Aboriginal welfare organisations operating in Victoria, and to establish a general policy of advancement for Aboriginal people.
Together with his wife Lady Gladys Nicholls, Sir Doug played a pivotal role in fighting for the rights of Aboriginal people in Australia. Together, they worked tirelessly to improve conditions for their people in Melbourne, across Victoria and nationally.
Sir Doug was the first Aboriginal person to be knighted and remains the only Australian Rules footballer to ever by knighted. He also served as Governor of South Australia in 1976 - the first non-white person to serve as the governor of an Australian state.
Sir Doug played a significant role in in pioneering Australia’s journey to reconciliation. He is an icon of Australian football and represented all the exceptional values of the game and epitomised the true spirit of justice, equality and reconciliation.
For more information on Sir Doug Nicholls, please see a video commissioned by the AFL here.
