Lone Protestor : A. M. Fernando in Australia and Europe

The late 1920s marked an extraordinary protest by an Australian Aboriginal man on the streets of London. Standing outside Australia House, cloaked in tiny skeletons, Anthony Martin Fernando condemned the failure of British rule in his country. Drawn from an extensive search in archives from Australia and Europe, this is the first full-length study of Fernando’s life and the self-professed mission that lasted half his adult life. A moving account, it chronicles the various forms of action taken by Fernando—from pamphlets on the streets of Rome to speeches in the famous Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park—and brings to light previously unknown details about his extraordinary life in Australia and overseas.

Fiona Paisley is a cultural historian and an associate professor at Griffith University. She is the author of Glamour in the Pacific, Loving Protection?, and Uncommon Ground. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Feminist Review, Journal of Women's History, and the Law and History Review.