Who was David Unaipon? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Australian Celebrities Born In September

Also Known As: David Ngunaitponi

Died At Age: 94

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Katherine Carter

father: James Unaipon

mother: Nymbulda Ngunaitponi

Non-Fiction Writers Australian Men

Died on: February 7, 1967

place of death: Tailem Bend

discoveries/inventions: Shearing Machine, Centrifugal Motor

More Facts

education: Point McLeay Mission School

Humanitarian Work: Pressed for the rights of the aboriginal community

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Childhood & Early Life

David was born to James Ngunaitponi and Nymbulda on 28th September, 1872 in Point Mcleay Mission, Australia. He is one among the nine children born to his parents.

He started pursuing his primary education at the ‘Point McLeay Mission School’ when he was seven years old, but discontinued at the age of thirteen to work with the popular politician and pastoralist, C.B Young.

The boy impressed Young with his intelligence, and the latter encouraged Unaipon to explore his passions, such as literature, music and science.

During the 1890s, Unaipon moved to Adelaide in search of employment, but he was denied of opportunities by many for being black-skinned. After a long, tiring hunt for a job, he finally started working as an apprentice to a boot-maker in Adelaide. However, he didn’t continue this job for long and started working at ‘The Point McLeay Store’.

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Career

In the early 1900s, David became an employee of the ‘Aborigines’ Friends Association’, an initiative aimed at supporting the rights of Aboriginal Australians.

One of his great accomplishments was the invention of a ‘shearing’ device, mainly aimed at extracting sheep fur. He obtained as many as 19 patents during this period for many other such inventions, which also included an idea of a centrifugal motor.

A few other significant achievements of this great man included his version of a helicopter, which worked on the principle of boomerang. He even explored Optics, which was a subject of great interest and went on to conduct a research on polarisation of light. By 1914, these works of Unaipon made waves amongst the public, helping him earn the title of ‘Australia’s Leonardo’.

David was also fascinated by literature and his interest in this field soon grabbed the attention of the prestigious ‘University of Adelaide’. The institution had appointed David to gather facts and interesting stories and episodes of aboriginal Australians.

David was also associated with the famous newspaper firm ‘The Sydney Telegraph’ since 1924 and even penned numerous articles for the daily.

David finally penned his research on aboriginal folks in the form of 3 booklets, during the period 1927-29. He even wrote books on his other topics of interest such as the flight pattern of a helicopter and the concept of perpetual motion.

Apart from just being associated with an Aboriginal association and writing books based on their lives, this great man also fought for his clan’s political rights. He urged the Australian government to uplift the people from this community, who resided in different states of the continent.

Major Works

Unaipon’s research on the aboriginal community was released in 1930, in the form of a book titled ‘Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals’. The book went on to be a well-acclaimed work and was published later as ‘Legendary Tales of The Australian Aborigines’.

Awards and Achievements

Unaipon was one of the few eminent individuals who were honoured with the Coronation medal in 1953.

Personal Life & Legacy

Unaipon tied the knot with a woman named Katherine Carter, belonging to the Tangane descent, in 1902.

David was invited for the esteemed Australian centenary Levee event in 1936, making him the first man from the aboriginal community to grace the event with his presence.

Unaipon succumbed to death on February 7, 1967 at a hospital located in the town of Tailem Bend.

A division of the ‘University of South Australia’ has been named the ‘David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research’, in honour of the man’s contribution to the society.

In honour of his literary prowess, the Australian government introduced the ‘David Unaipon Literary Award’ to honour budding writers.

The ‘Reserve Bank of Australia’ honoured this great writer by printing his face on a $50 dollar bill. However, his family members protested against the government for using his name without permission.

Trivia

This preacher and writer preferred conversing in formal, classical English, rather than the way the language is used by commoners for conversation

David Unaipon Biography