Jungung - Jack McGinness

John Francis 'Jack' McGinness became Australia's first elected Aboriginal Union leader in 1955. It was the culmination of a life spent advocating for Aboriginal and workers' rights. Jungung is Jack McGinness's story told by his daughter, Kathy Mills.

Jungung traces Jack's early life in the bush of the Nothern Territory's Top End learning the language and culture of his Irish father, Stephen McGinness and Ulnyunduboo, his Koongurrukun mother. When Stephen McGinness died in 1918 the Government removed Jack from his family and his Koongurrukun homeland.

Despite the Government policies the McGinness family stuck together. In 1923 he joined the union that became the North Australian Workers Union (NAWU) in 1927. Jack married and moved his family to Katherine to work on the North Austalia Railway. During World War II his family was evacuated to South Australia.

After the War Jack returned to Darwin and was elected president of the Darwin Half-Caste Progressive Association that advocated for citizenship rights for its members. In 1951, his rousing speech to the Australian Council of Trade Union Congress in Melbourne gained their support for his campaign which was ultimately successful.

In 1955 Jack was elected president of the NAWU, a position he held from 1955056 to 1957-58 and 1962-63. He remained a committed union supporter and advocate for Aboriginal rights until his death in 1973.