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months later on 8 March 1924 leaving Anna the sole beneficiary of his estate of more than 22 000 Pounds. In 1925,
she also inherited some money on the death of one of her family, making her one of the Territory’s wealthiest
women.
Anna died on 11 July 1939 at Darwin, age 86, one of Darwin’s oldest residents. She had been an invalid for
many years, looked after by Mr and Mrs N C Bell, and her death was hastened by a fall about a week before her
death. Her body was taken to the Christ Church and it remained there all night with the service conducted the
following morning. Anna, who had always been very generous, left more than 7 084 Pounds and her shares in
banks to Elizabeth Bell, who had looked after her during her years as an invalid. The balance of her estate went
to the Anglican Bishop of Carpentaria for the Church of England to which she had devoted so much of her adult
life.
B James, Occupation Citizen, 1995.
BARBARA JAMES, Vol 3.
WATERS NADPUR also NATPUR, FRED (c1900–1958), labourer and Aboriginal leader, was probably a
member of the Danggalaba (crocodile) clan who was born in the Darwin area in about 1900. His mother was
Kadjowi (Kowija). Little is known of his early life. In approximately 1939, he formed a relationship with Maggie
Shepherd, who was a member of the Brinkin group. It was estimated that she was born on the Daly River around
- She left the area as a young girl and came to Darwin where she lived in the Kahlin Compound until 1926
when she married Bob Shepherd, a part Aborigine. She and Shepherd had four children and lived with Shepherd’s
parents near Doctor’s Gully. Shepherd operated a small cargo vessel and often all the family would accompany
him on his trips. The date of Shepherd’s death is unknown but authorities believed it was a number of years prior
to Maggie Shepherd forming a relationship with Nadpur.
During the Second World War, Nadpur and Maggie Shepherd were sent to the Mataranka Army Camp. After
1945, they stayed briefly at Adelaide River and then went on to the Berrimah Compound on the outskirts of
Darwin. In late 1950 and early 1951, Nadpur and Maggie were living with her son in Stuart Park.
Nadpur became the focus of national attention when he was banished to Haasts Bluff by the Director of Native
Affairs for his active role in strike action for better working conditions in February 1951. A series of strikes had
begun in December 1950, and while two prominent Aborigines, Lawrence and Billie, were the visible leaders, it
was later claimed that Nadpur was the true organiser behind the scenes. Murray Norris, who was an organiser with
the North Australian Workers’ Union (NAWU) at the time, later claimed that it was always best to keep the principal
Aboriginal leaders in the background as they were too easily ‘picked off’ by the Native affairs administration.
Nadpur and his fellow strikers made demands that included equal wages and full citizenship rights. They had
the backing of the NAWU and through the union network, the strike received national coverage and support. At this
time, the NAWU was dominated by Communist Party of Australia members and sympathisers and supported direct
action. Once Lawrence and Billie were removed, on allegedly trumped up charges, Nadpur assumed the front line
position and led the strike held on 12 February 1951. Frank Moy, the Director of Native Affairs, consulted with
the Administrator and it was decided to send Waters Nadpur to Haasts Bluff to avoid further strike action. The
federal government fully supported this action and he was taken from the house in Parap where he was living with
Maggie Shepherd and her son and began the journey to Haasts Bluff that same night.
Meanwhile, Norris, the NAWU organiser, was in Melbourne to process a log of claims at the same time as
Dr H V Evatt, Leader of the Federal Opposition, was also there appearing before the High Court against the
banning of the Communist Party, and he urged Norris to take out a writ of habeas corpus. The court decided that it
had no jurisdiction to give a decision. Evatt then urged that a writ of injunction be taken out against the Northern
Territory Administration and the Acting Minister for the Interior but this was also unsuccessful. In handing down
his decision on 19 March 1951, Justice Fullagar of the High Court decided that under the terms of the Aboriginals’
Ordinance Moy had acted within his jurisdiction.
The ‘shanghaiing’ of Nadpur was, nevertheless, unpopular. The trade union movement was fully behind the
campaign to have him returned to Darwin and ‘in principle’ motions were passed around the country. In his
autobiography, Joe McGinness, an Aboriginal trade unionist and activist, regards the Nadpur case as the trigger for
the founding of the Victorian Council for Aboriginal Rights. Alan Marshall, the prominent author, and Reverend
Doug Nicholls, a well-known Aboriginal clergyman, pledged their support for Nadpur. The historian Peter Read
has also suggested that the Reverend Dr Charles Duguid of the Presbyterian Church in South Australia took up
the case and thus provided a catalyst for the foundation of the Council for Aboriginal Rights in his state.
The Northern Territory Administration was finally persuaded to return Nadpur to Darwin with as little ‘fuss
and embarrassment’ as possible. At an interview with the press on his return, a journalist asked Nadpur if he had
promised the Administrator he would be a good boy. He replied, ‘I’m a man and I’ll cause trouble until I die while
my people want me’.
On 7 October 1958, he died of head injuries in tragic circumstances.
J McGinness, Son of Alyandabu, 1990; P Read, Charles Perkins, 1990; Northern Standard, various issues; Australian Archives, Northern
Territory Office, CRS F1 51/704.
JULIE T WELLS, Vol 2.
WATERS, NICHOLAS JOSEPH (1854–1924), policeman, was born in Mallow near Cork in Ireland on
12 June 1854 and came to Australia as a youth. On 14 August 1872, he joined the South Australian police force
and 10 years later, on 9 July 1882, he arrived in Palmerston (now Darwin) with the rank of First Class Constable.