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'Fighting hard tells a history of the Aborigines Advancement League, the oldest Aboriginal organisation in Australia. As both a welfare and activist body, the League is the ‘mother’ of all Aboriginal Victorian community organisations, having spawned a diverse range of organisations.'
'The League influenced the fight for civil rights and took a stand against the government’s assimilation policy. Its activism with government and the United Nations predates the better known Tent Embassy and provided a Victorian, national and international perspective on Aboriginal affairs.'
'Begun as a coalition of all Australians, in 1969 a black power takeover changed its management to Aboriginal community control – something which was managed peacefully and fruitfully. Its national significance is marked by the League’s leadership where, from the 1970s, many community heroes became role models for Aboriginal youth.'
'Over the years the League has proven that despite the pervasive mythology, Aboriginal people are able to successfully govern their own organisations. In particular, the League has proven its capacity for managing good governance while maintaining Aboriginal cultural values.' (Source: Publisher's website)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
Works about this Work
-
[Review] Fighting Hard: The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 47 no. 2 2016; (p. 338-339)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism 'A master story-teller, Broome reveals so much more than the history of an organisation in Fighting Hard. All the elements of an organisational history are there: we learn about the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League’s origins, leaders, workers, structure, policies, projects, and relationships with other groups and government. Drawing on his wealth of knowledge and experience as a historian, Broome sets this story within a richly drawn context of social, political and economic change, thereby enhancing our understanding of the League’s history. At the same time, through his focus on the League, Broome is able to shed new light on aspects of the wider story, deepening our collective understanding of Australian history. Fighting Hard is a model organisational history—a brilliant example of the possibilities and benefits of combining ethnographic, biographical and conventional historical methodologies. ...' -
[Review Essay] Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 18 2016; (p. 223-224)'As one of Australia's foremost historians of Aboriginal Australia, Richard Broome's account of the principal Aboriginal activist organisation in twentieth century Victoria is presented with great skill, and with the profound respect due to its subjects. As Broome explains, another history of the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL) was published thirty years ago that did not make use of the organisation's archive. Access to the VAAL's extensive archive is at the core of Broome's stated intention to portray Aboriginal agency in activism. The chronological narrative is contextualised with interviews, and comparisons with the North American black rights movement.' (Introduction)
-
[Review Essay] Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Victorian Historical Journal , June vol. 87 no. 1 2016; (p. 181-183) 'We are already indebted to Richard Broome for examinations of encounters of Aboriginal Victorians and settler regimes, including his book Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800, which appeared in 2005. In Fighting Hard he has advanced our knowledge and understanding of this crucial area with a history of the highly important organisation, the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL). The League has been the most prominent post-war Indigenous organisation in this state and, we learn, the longest continuous Aboriginal organisation in the country. Founded in 1957, the VAAL has served for close on six decades as an advocacy body for Victorian Indigenous rights and aspirations, and as a vital base for activists who influenced the formation of other state and national associations. Despite the high profile of the League there has been no previous scholarly history; Hyland House published a brief account thirty years ago, but its author had no access to the VAAL archives. In researching this story Broome has benefited considerably from collaboration with League members and their associates, who generously shared their knowledge through discussions and interviews. They have been aided in this collaborative endeavour by the agreement the League forged with the State Library of Victoria to house its substantial archive, a negotiation in which Richard Broome himself played a crucial part. In Fighting Hard, he offers a meticulously researched and accessibly written narrative of the League and its formidable efforts on behalf of fellow Indigenous Victorians and Aborigines nationally.' (Introduction) -
Filling in the Gaps and Tapping the Depths : Fighting for Aboriginal Rights
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 13 no. 4 2016; (p. 621-625)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism ; Just Relations : The Story of Mary Bennett's Crusade for Aboriginal Rights 2015 single work biography -
[Review] Fighting Hard: the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2015
single work
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Aboriginal History , December vol. 39 no. 2015; (p. 271-273)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism
-
Book Tells the History of League
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 15 July no. 605 2015; (p. 12)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism 'A book documenting the history of Victoria's Aborigines Advancement League will help keep culture alive...' -
[Review] Fighting Hard: the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2015
single work
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Aboriginal History , December vol. 39 no. 2015; (p. 271-273)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism -
[Review] Fighting Hard: The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 47 no. 2 2016; (p. 338-339)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism 'A master story-teller, Broome reveals so much more than the history of an organisation in Fighting Hard. All the elements of an organisational history are there: we learn about the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League’s origins, leaders, workers, structure, policies, projects, and relationships with other groups and government. Drawing on his wealth of knowledge and experience as a historian, Broome sets this story within a richly drawn context of social, political and economic change, thereby enhancing our understanding of the League’s history. At the same time, through his focus on the League, Broome is able to shed new light on aspects of the wider story, deepening our collective understanding of Australian history. Fighting Hard is a model organisational history—a brilliant example of the possibilities and benefits of combining ethnographic, biographical and conventional historical methodologies. ...' -
Filling in the Gaps and Tapping the Depths : Fighting for Aboriginal Rights
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 13 no. 4 2016; (p. 621-625)
— Review of Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League 2015 single work criticism ; Just Relations : The Story of Mary Bennett's Crusade for Aboriginal Rights 2015 single work biography -
[Review Essay] Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Victorian Historical Journal , June vol. 87 no. 1 2016; (p. 181-183) 'We are already indebted to Richard Broome for examinations of encounters of Aboriginal Victorians and settler regimes, including his book Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800, which appeared in 2005. In Fighting Hard he has advanced our knowledge and understanding of this crucial area with a history of the highly important organisation, the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL). The League has been the most prominent post-war Indigenous organisation in this state and, we learn, the longest continuous Aboriginal organisation in the country. Founded in 1957, the VAAL has served for close on six decades as an advocacy body for Victorian Indigenous rights and aspirations, and as a vital base for activists who influenced the formation of other state and national associations. Despite the high profile of the League there has been no previous scholarly history; Hyland House published a brief account thirty years ago, but its author had no access to the VAAL archives. In researching this story Broome has benefited considerably from collaboration with League members and their associates, who generously shared their knowledge through discussions and interviews. They have been aided in this collaborative endeavour by the agreement the League forged with the State Library of Victoria to house its substantial archive, a negotiation in which Richard Broome himself played a crucial part. In Fighting Hard, he offers a meticulously researched and accessibly written narrative of the League and its formidable efforts on behalf of fellow Indigenous Victorians and Aborigines nationally.' (Introduction) -
[Review Essay] Fighting Hard : The Victorian Aborigines Advancement League
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 18 2016; (p. 223-224)'As one of Australia's foremost historians of Aboriginal Australia, Richard Broome's account of the principal Aboriginal activist organisation in twentieth century Victoria is presented with great skill, and with the profound respect due to its subjects. As Broome explains, another history of the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL) was published thirty years ago that did not make use of the organisation's archive. Access to the VAAL's extensive archive is at the core of Broome's stated intention to portray Aboriginal agency in activism. The chronological narrative is contextualised with interviews, and comparisons with the North American black rights movement.' (Introduction)
