AJN STAFF

ABORIGINAL elder William Cooper’s grandson, Alfred “Uncle Boydie” Turner, was the guest speaker at the UIA’s AGM in Melbourne on November 26.

Cooper, of Yorta Yorta descent, spent most of his life in the Cummeragunja community where he was a spokesman for the Yorta Yorta in their ongoing battles for land justice against the New South Wales government. Late in life, he resettled in Melbourne.

In 1938, following Kristallnacht, Cooper petitioned the German Consulate over the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews, the only such recorded protest in Australia at that time.

In May 2009, the State of Israel commemorated the brave actions of Cooper.

The Embassy of Israel and United Israel Appeal flew Turner to Israel for this commemoration and he spoke to the AGM about his trip.