Fred Maynard was born in 1879 to an English labourer, and his mother Mary Phillips. His grandmother was a Wonnarua woman from Hunter River. After working as a wharf labourer, Fred became an active member of the waterside Workers Federation of Australia. This experience led to him speaking out for Aboriginal rights, and eventually he founded of the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) in 1924.
The AAPA 'advocated that all Aboriginal families should receive inalienable grants of farming land within their traditional country, that their children should have free entry to public schools, and that [Aboriginal people] should control any administrative body affecting their lives.' (ADB)
Through the writing and research of Fred's son, John Maynard, it has become known that the AAPA was the first politically organised Aboriginal activist organisation in Australia (see Fight for Liberty and Freedom).
