GlossaryAboriginal Progressive Association
The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), an all-Aboriginal body, was formed in 1937 in New South Wales with Jack Patten as president and Bill Ferguson as secretary. The APA, together with William Cooper, was responsible for organising the Day of Mourning protest on Australia Day in 1938. The APA had three aims: full citizenship rights for Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal representation in Parliament and abolition of the New South Wales Aborigines' Protection Board.