Faith Bandler AC (1918–2015)

Ida Lessing Faith Bandler (known as Faith) was a leading Australian civil rights activist and author who campaigned for the rights of Indigenous Australians and South Sea Islanders, through raising awareness of their history and heritage. Declared an 'Australian Living Treasure' in 1997, Bandler's life has been described as 'a monument to service to humanity'.¹

Born in Tumbulgum, NSW, Bandler was one of eight children. Her mother Ida was of Scottish–Indian descent, and her father Wacvie (Peter) was one of more than 60,000 Pacific Islanders brought to Australia to work as indentured labour on the Queensland cane fields.²

Educated in Murwillumbah and Sydney, Bandler served in the Australian Women's Land Army during World War II³ and on discharge in 1945, led a campaign for equal pay for Indigenous workers. Involved in the peace movement, in 1951 she travelled to Berlin and toured Europe as a member of the Margaret Walker Dance Group.⁴ She married Hans Bandler in Sydney in 1952 and they had one child.⁵

In 1956, Bandler co-founded the Aboriginal–Australian Fellowship, which campaigned for Indigenous rights. She was also a leading campaigner for the successful 1967 referendum to remove discrimination against Indigenous Australians from the Constitution. Bandler later served as General Secretary of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (1970–73) and was an active member of the Women's Electoral Lobby.

Her advocacy increasingly focused on the recognition of Australian South Sea Islanders, through lobbying governments to improve services and address disadvantage. In 1977 she published Wacvie, a novel based on her father's life. Having helped establish the Australian South Sea Islanders United Council in 1974, Bandler finally saw South Sea Islanders recognised by the Commonwealth Government as a distinct cultural group 20 years later.

In recognition for her extensive service and achievements, Bandler received the Human Rights Medal in 1997, was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1984, and a Companion of the Order in 2009. She died in Sydney and her state funeral was held in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney.

Artist's note
Faith Bandler described the Government policy on Indigenous Australians’ voting rights as ‘the most glaring injustice ever dealt these people’. Her forthright words reported in a newspaper in 1961⁶ summed up her frustrations as the Vice-President of the Aboriginal–Australian Fellowship. By changing the colours from black and white to hot pink and warm ochre with opposing cool blues and green I hoped to draw attention to the anger felt by many people working towards Aboriginal advancement at that time.

The photograph of Bandler I selected for the screen print demonstrates her self-possessed poise as she forcefully articulated the aims and desires of Aboriginal Australians. Bandler was able to attract Australians of all backgrounds to the cause of social justice, human rights and equal opportunity for all, regardless of people's ethnicity or skin colour, their gender or class background.⁷

I juxtaposed the cool and calm image of Bandler as a counterpoint to the strongly-coloured words as she tirelessly lobbied the Australian people and their governments to improve the lives not only of Aboriginal Australians, but also of South Sea Islander communities and all women.

References
1. Clive R Moore, 'Bandler, Ida Lessing Faith (1918–2015)', Pacific Islander Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; Marilyn Lake, 'Bandler, Faith', The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership. Websites accessed 27 June 2024.
2. Jeff Sparrow, 'Friday essay: a slave state – how blackbirding in colonial Australia created a legacy of racism', The Conversation, 5 August 2022, accessed 27 June 2024.
3. Australian Government, 'Remembrance Day – Faith Bandler', accessed 27 June 2024.
4. 'Aboriginal delegate's praise for festival', Tribune, 10 October 1951, p. 6; 'Youth speaks', ibid., p. 9; National Library of Australia, 'Guide to the Papers of Margaret Walker: Biographical note'. Websites accessed 27 June 2024.
5. Tony Stephens, 'Bandler, Hans (1914–2009)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 27 June 2024.
6. 'Native Vote Ban Attacked', Sunday Mirror, 4 May 1961, in F Bandler and L Fox, The Time Was Ripe, Alternative Publishing Co-operative, Chippendale, NSW, 1983.
7. Marilyn Lake, 'Bandler, Faith', The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership. Websites accessed 17 December 2024.