Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner | |
|---|---|
 Bonner in 1979 | |
| Senator for Queensland | |
| In office 11 June 1971 – 5 March 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Dame Annabelle Rankin |
| Succeeded by | Ron Boswell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Neville Thomas Bonner 28 March 1922 Ukerebagh Island, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 5 February 1999 (aged 76) Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
| Party | Liberal (1967–1983) Independent (from 1983) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 boys |
| Occupation | Federal senator |
Neville Thomas Bonner (28 March 1922 – 5 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of Queensland in the Senate in 1971, and in 1972 became the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to the parliament by popular vote. Bonner was an elder of the Jagera people.