Born 23 September 1918 into a community that had little

acknowledgment for her race was a woman named Faith Bandler

who would later shape the future of countless generations of
Indigenous peoples. Faith Bandler played a key role in the
movement and protests that led to the equality of Indigenous and
South Sea Islanders through the 1967 referendum. This important
piece of legislation ensured that Aboriginals were counted as part of
the population, they were allowed to make laws and to disallow slurs
about the peoples. Faith Bandler learnt the harsh injustices of her
people through her fathers harsh experiences as a slave labourer
and how it motivated her for her activism. Throughout her lifetime,
Faith released 4 books of which 2 contained information about the
1967 referendum and her movements with the Federal Council for
the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
and two personal anecdotal books. Faith Bandler was given the
Order of Australia in 1984 for her services to Aboriginal welfare
and a state funeral when she died. Faith Bandler died on the 13th of
February, 2015 and is remembered for her leadership in the 1960s
that led to a monumental change in the Indigenous treatment.