Gary Foley - Early Years and 1970s Activism

Early Years and 1970s Activism

Foley was born Gary Edward Foley in 1950 in Grafton and spent much of his childhood in Nambucca Heads. He was expelled from school on the basis of race at the age of 15 and arrived in Redfern in 1967 as an apprentice draftsman and became involved in the "black power" movement active in that suburb.

Foley played an active role in organising protests against the Springboks in 1971 as a result of the Apartheid policies in South Africa. At one stage, Foley and fellow protester Billy Craigie were arrested for wearing Springbok jerseys outside the team motel in Bondi Junction with the police believing they had been stolen when they had been supplied by former Wallaby Jim Boyce. As a result of the level of protests against the Springboks, an Australian tour by the South African cricket team later that year was cancelled and the two-decade exile of South African sporting teams commenced.

Foley co-founded the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972 outside Parliament House to highlight Aboriginal disadvantage. The Tent Embassy is still in place despite ongoing controversy and has been nominated for the heritage list. It helped raise the profile of Aboriginal issues prior to the election of the Whitlam Government. He was also involved in the formation of the Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern and the Aboriginal Medical Service in Melbourne and Sydney.

He also co-wrote and appeared in Basically Black, the first Aboriginal stage production in 1972. In 1978, he was part of a group that took Aboriginal films to the Cannes Film Festival and then to other parts of Europe. He also starred in the film Backroads (1977), appeared in Dogs in Space and made guest appearances on television shows A Country Practice and The Flying Doctors.