'At the 1960 annual conference of the Federal Council for Aboriginal
Advancement (FCAA), Alex Vesper made the first of many speeches about
land. Alex, a tall, white-haired, dignified, Bundjalung-speaking man was
from Woodenbong Reserve. He argued for more land at a time when New
South Wales reserves were shrinking, and for compensation for Aboriginal
people for the loss of their lands. With bible in hand, he used the Old
Testament to support and illustrate his position. Throughout the 1960s,
Alex would continue to press the case for land at FCAA annual
conferences. He was a relentless and articulate advocate for land rights
before the issue was taken up more broadly later in the decade.'
Source:
The Time Was Ripe. Faith Bandler and Len Fox (Eds.) Alternative Publishing Cooperative: Sydney, 1983
