Abstract
Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell has been called many things over the last 50 years: Tasmanian firebrand, associate of terrorists, saboteur of The Voice. He’s asked Libya for support, demanded a sovereign Aboriginal state, challenged Queen Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela, and attacked whites he calls ‘race-changers’.
Mansell is now 72 and spends his time between Launceston and the Bass Strait Islands where he runs a mutton bird shed. His only formal role with the Aboriginal community is as chair of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council. Even after 50 years of political action, he remains a highly visible and often controversial figure in Australia.
In this History Listen, Mansell reflects on his life of activism. He does this under questioning from his daughter, Nala Mansell. Nala is a seasoned political activist in her own right - campaign director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre – which Michael helped to set up in the 1970s with Nala’s mother Heather Sculthorpe and others .
Nala pushes her father to reveal his feelings around some of the actions for which he is best known. Together they provide insight into the evolution of Aboriginal rights activism in Australia and Mansell’s continuing and unapologetic radical resistance.
Mansell is now 72 and spends his time between Launceston and the Bass Strait Islands where he runs a mutton bird shed. His only formal role with the Aboriginal community is as chair of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council. Even after 50 years of political action, he remains a highly visible and often controversial figure in Australia.
In this History Listen, Mansell reflects on his life of activism. He does this under questioning from his daughter, Nala Mansell. Nala is a seasoned political activist in her own right - campaign director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre – which Michael helped to set up in the 1970s with Nala’s mother Heather Sculthorpe and others .
Nala pushes her father to reveal his feelings around some of the actions for which he is best known. Together they provide insight into the evolution of Aboriginal rights activism in Australia and Mansell’s continuing and unapologetic radical resistance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Australia |
| Publisher | ABC Radio National |
| Edition | The History Listen |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Apr 2024 |
Keywords
- Tasmania, Aboriginal, protest, campaigning, politics
