Aborigines' Friends' Association

Ngadlu tampinthi ngadlu Kaurna Miyurna yartangka. Munaintya puru purruna ngadlu-itya. Munaintyanangku yalaka tarrkarriana tuntarri.

We acknowledge we are on Kaurna Miyurna land. The Dreaming is still living. From the past, in the present, into the future, forever.

Cultural Sensitivity Warning

It is a condition of use of the cultural components of the Museum Archives that users ensure that any disclosure of information contained in this collection is consistent with the views and sensitivities of Indigenous people. Users are warned that there may be words and descriptions that may be culturally sensitive and which might not normally be used in certain public or community contexts. Users should also be aware that some records document research into people and cultures using a scientific research model dating from the first half of the twentieth century, and depicts people as research subjects in ways which may today be considered offensive. Some records contain terms and annotations that reflect the author's attitude or that of the period in which the item was written, and may be considered inappropriate today in some circumstances. Users should be aware that in some Indigenous communities, hearing names of deceased persons might cause sadness or distress, particularly to the relatives of these people. Furthermore, certain totemic symbols may also have prohibitions relating to the age, initiation and ceremonial status or clan of the person who may see them. Records included may be subject to access conditions imposed by Indigenous communities and/or depositors. Users are advised that access to some materials may be subject to these terms and conditions that the Museum is required to maintain.

Membership

Support

Aborigines' Friends' Association

Archive Collections / Aborigines' Friends' Association

From : 1858

To : 2000

The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1858 and incorporated in 1879. Its concern was 'the moral, spiritual and physical well-being of the natives of this province'.

In 1859 the AFA appointed George Taplin (see AA 319) as the first missionary teacher to work in the lower Murray districts. Taplin chose the site at Point McLeay (SA) or Raukkan as known to the local Aboriginal people, the Ngarrindjeri (Narrinyeri) to establish the first mission. The AFA continued to support Point McLeay after the Government assumed control in 1912.

Between 1925 and 1934 the AFA supported the missionary work of Ernest E Kramer (see AA 669) and his wife Eugenia in Central Australia.

The Rev. John Henry Sexton, OBE was Secretary of the Aborigines' Friends' Association for thirty-one years and subsequently served as President of the Association. Sexton entered the Baptist Ministry in 1885 and gained a reputation as a preacher, lecturer and organiser. He served a term as President of the Baptist Union, for 23 years was Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and was also actively connected with the work of the Adelaide City Mission for over 25 years. Sexton continued to play a leading role in the AFA until 1954. He was also responsible for a number of publications on issues relating to Australian Aboriginal people.

By the 1930s the AFA expressed its object as: 'to watch over the interests of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Australia and particularly the state of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and promote their spiritual and temporal well-being in any way that circumstances may suggest.'

The AFA wound up with its final meeting in 2000.