# Eleanor Harding > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eleanor_Harding > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eleanor_Harding.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Harding > Source revision: 1336028969 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Australian Aboriginal activist (1934–1996)}} {{for|the Trollope character|Barchester Towers#Others}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Eleanor Harding | image = Eleanor Harding.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Eleanor Nain | birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|6|24|df=y}} | birth_place = [Erub Island](/source/Darnley_Island_(Queensland)), [Torres Strait Islands](/source/Torres_Strait_Islands), Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|6|14|1934|6|24|df=y}} | death_place = [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), Australia | nationality = | other_names = Eleanor Deacon, Eleanor Petersen | occupation = Aboriginal activist | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | children = 7, including [Destiny Deacon](/source/Destiny_Deacon) }} '''Eleanor Harding''' ({{née}} '''Nain'''; 24 June 1934 – 14 June 1996) was an [Indigenous Australian](/source/Indigenous_Australian) from the Torres Strait Islands who worked to attain [civil rights](/source/Civil_and_political_rights) for Aboriginal Australians. She advocated for women's rights and adequate educational opportunities, as well, serving with numerous organizations to attain equality for indigenous people. In 2012, she was inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll by the [State of Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)). ==Early life== Eleanor Nain{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} was born on 24 June 1934{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} on [Erub Island](/source/Darnley_Island_(Queensland)) of the [Torres Strait Islands](/source/Torres_Strait_Islands) in Australia. Her mother, Emma Pitt was of the [Meriam Mer](/source/Meriam_people) people in the Torres Straits and her father Fred Nain, from [Cape York, Queensland](/source/Cape_York_Peninsula){{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} was from the [Kuku](/source/Kuku_Yalanji) peoples.{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} When she was eight years old, her father was killed while working on a [pearling lugger](/source/pearling_lugger) and a few years later she was orphaned when her mother died.{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} Her mother's mother, Annai Pitt, brought her from Erub Island to the mainland,{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} where they first lived in [Cairns](/source/Cairns) and later moved to [Bloomfield, Queensland](/source/Bloomfield%2C_Queensland).{{sfn|Negus|2003}} By the time she was thirteen, Nain was working as a kitchen helper at [Lake Eacham Hotel](/source/Lake_Eacham_Hotel) to earn her own living.{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} The discriminatory laws of [Queensland](/source/Queensland) toward aboriginal people were some of the harshest in Australia.{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} In 1956, hoping to find less discrimination, Nain moved to the [South Yarra](/source/South_Yarra%2C_Victoria) suburb of [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) and after a brief time, to the [Fitzroy](/source/Fitzroy%2C_Victoria) suburban area.{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} She had seven children with three partners: Deborah Deacon, [Destiny Deacon](/source/Destiny_Deacon), Kerry Deacon, Johnny Harding, Janina Harding, Clinton Petersen (who uses the professional name Clinton Nain, in his visual arts work), and Tommy Petersen,{{sfn|Deacon|2003}}{{sfn|Negus|2003}} taking the surname of Jack Harding, a white wharf labourer from the [Maroubra suburb](/source/Maroubra%2C_New_South_Wales) of [Sydney](/source/Sydney).{{sfn|Hurtgen|2009}} The community was close-knit, and Harding soon was taking part in a network of neighbors helping each other, visiting prisons, and performing other social services to improve their living conditions. In the 1960s, she joined the [Aborigines Advancement League](/source/Aborigines_Advancement_League) and the local branch of the [Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders](/source/Federal_Council_for_the_Advancement_of_Aborigines_and_Torres_Strait_Islanders) (FCAATSI) to push for [civil rights](/source/Civil_and_political_rights) and equality for Indigenous Australians.{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} Harding was one of the activists who pressed for and achieved the passage of the [Aboriginal Australian Referendum of 1967](/source/Australian_referendum%2C_1967_(Aboriginals)), which amended the [Constitution of Australia](/source/Constitution_of_Australia),{{sfn|Booth|Briscoe|2015}} which laid the groundwork for later more significant legislation for [indigenous rights](/source/indigenous_rights).{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} As a member of the executive of the [National Aboriginal and Islander Women's Council](/source/National_Aboriginal_and_Islander_Women's_Council), she took part in women's issues, as well as several protests to focus attention on the problems which [colonialism](/source/colonialism) had brought to women and indigenous people.{{sfn|Booth|Briscoe|2015}} Throughout the 1970s, she worked with victims of [domestic violence](/source/domestic_violence). In spite of her limited schooling, Harding encouraged all of her children to seek higher education. She supported the Abschol movement which began as a scheme to provide scholarships for Aboriginal students. In addition, she served on the boards of the [Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service](/source/Victorian_Aboriginal_Legal_Service) and the [Victorian Aboriginal Health Service](/source/Victorian_Aboriginal_Health_Service). Into the 1980s, Harding remained active. In 1983, she and other women established the [Margaret Tucker Hostel](/source/Margaret_Tucker_Hostel) to give young, homeless, Aboriginal women safe housing.{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} Harding died on 14 June 1996,{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} in Melbourne and was returned to Darnley Island for burial.{{sfn|Negus|2003}} Posthumously, an award, named in her honor, "The Aunty Eleanor Harding Memorial Award" is granted annually since 1999 by the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance of Victoria to an emerging talent.{{sfn|Bailey|2012}} In 2002, a pictorial tribute created by Harding's daughter Destiny Deacon, entitled ''Postcards from Mummy'' was shown at [Documenta 11](/source/documenta), in [Kassel](/source/Kassel), Germany. The exhibition later was shown in Australia.{{sfn|Deacon|2003}} In 2012, Harding was inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll by the [State of Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)).{{sfn|Victoria State Government|2013}} == References == ===Citations=== {{Reflist|30em}} ===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin|30em}} *{{cite news|last1=Bailey|first1=John|title=Stage|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=eleanor+harding&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE121127DA5H1EHKVM2|access-date=2 August 2016|newspaper=[The Age](/source/The_Age)|date=27 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802194347/http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=eleanor+harding&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE121127DA5H1EHKVM2|archive-date=2 August 2016|location=Melbourne, Australia}} *{{cite news|last1=Booth|first1=Andrea|last2=Briscoe|first2=Luke|title=20 inspiring black women who have changed Australia|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/03/06/20-inspiring-black-women-who-have-changed-australia|access-date=2 August 2016|publisher=[NITV](/source/Special_Broadcasting_Service_Corporation)|date=6 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612170929/http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/03/06/20-inspiring-black-women-who-have-changed-australia|archive-date=12 June 2016|location=Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia}} *{{cite web|last1=Deacon|first1=Destiny|title=Postcards from Mummy|publisher=Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery|url=https://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/news/releases/2003/03/19/47/|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041027222003/http://roslynoxley9.com.au/news/releases/2003/03/19/47/|archive-date=27 October 2004|location=Sydney, Australia|date=19 March 2003}} *{{cite web|last1=Hurtgen|first1=Anne-Marie|title=Destiny Deacon b. 1957|url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/destiny-deacon/biography/|website=DAAO|publisher=Design & Art Australia Online|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423020103/https://www.daao.org.au/bio/destiny-deacon/biography/|archive-date=23 April 2016|location=Paddington, New South Wales, Australia|date=2009}} *{{cite news|last1=Negus|first1=George|title=Pitt Family|url=https://www.abc.net.au/gnt/history/Transcripts/s961416.htm|access-date=2 August 2016|publisher=[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)|date=6 October 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040216114545/http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/history/Transcripts/s961416.htm|archive-date=16 February 2004|location=Sydney, Australia}} *{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Victoria State Government|2013}} |title=Eleanor Harding (1934 - 1996) |url=https://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/index.php/aboriginal-affairs/projects-and-programs/leadership/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll-2012-inductees/eleanor-harding-1934-1996 |publisher=Victoria State Government Department of Premier and Cabinet |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711180622/http://dpc.vic.gov.au/index.php/aboriginal-affairs/projects-and-programs/leadership/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll/victorian-aboriginal-honour-roll-2012-inductees/eleanor-harding-1934-1996 |archive-date=11 July 2016 |location=Melbourne, Australia |date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead }} {{refend}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Eleanor}} Category:1934 births Category:1996 deaths Category:Torres Strait Islanders Category:Australian Indigenous rights activists Category:20th-century Australian people Category:20th-century Australian women Category:Torres Strait Islander women Category:Australian women activists --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eleanor Harding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Harding) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Harding?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.