Anthony Martin Fernando was the son of an Aboriginal woman, possibly from the Dharug people; his father may have been an African-American man by the name of John Martin, who was a convict in the First Fleet. However, Paisley asserts that he had never discussed his paternal lineage, but had referred to his people as the Aborigines of Australia. Fernando had spent most of his childhood separated from his mother; it is unclear as to whether he was taken from his mother and placed in servitude or indentured employment. However, he was described in his adult life as educated and well spoken, showing that he may have received some formal education in an Institution run by a local Christian Missionary Society. It was after the death of his mother ('the guiding star' of his life), that Fernando returned to his community.
In 1887, Fernando was refused permission to give evidence as a witness to the murder of an Aboriginal by two white men, who were subsequently acquitted. Disgusted with Australia, he became a self-imposed exile and, from 1890, began his political activities and protests concerning the failure of the British justice in Australia, and Aboriginal rights overseas. Travelling throughout Asia and Europe, Fernando worked as a welder, toymaker, jewellery-maker, trader and servant, during which time he lived in Italy. It was in Italy that he adopted the name 'Fernando', out of respect for the Italian people.
In 1910, Fernando was in Austria, where his claims to be a British subject were repeatedly rejected by the British authorities. In June 1916, he was interned in Austria, 'stating that he was born in Australia, he requested prison relief through the consul for the United States of America in Vienna'. This appeal was rejected, after the British Foreign Office, who had described him as 'a negro', referred the matter to the Australian government, who had no record of his birth. Settling back in Milan, Italy, after the war, Fernando worked in an engineering workshop. During this time, he continued his political activities against the Australian injustices towards Aborigines, for which he subsequently was arrested and, in 1923, deported to Britain.
In Britain, Fernando became a servant for an English barrister, but preferring his independence, Fernando travelled back to Europe. However, by 1928, he returned to London, picketing outside of London's Australia House, dressed in a large overcoat pinned with several small white toy skeletons, and wearing a placard proclaiming "This is all Australia has left of my people". He was given a suspended jail sentence with two years' probation, during which time he worked as a cook in the barrister's employment. In 1938, Fernando was incarcerated for three months, accused of assaulting a fellow lodger; later, he retired to an old men's home.
Sources:
Holland, Alison and Paisley, Fiona/ 'Fernando, Anthony Martin (1864-1949)', Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Paisley, Fiona. 'An "Education in White Brutality': Anthony Martin Fernando and Australian Aboriginal Rights in Transnational Context.' In Annie E.E. Coombes (ed.), Rethinking Settler Colonialism: History and Memory in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and South Africa, 2006, pp.209-228.
