Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this resource may contain images or names of people who have since passed away.

Introduction

Paul Coe, a proud Wiradjuri man born at Erambie Mission in Cowra, Central New South Wales, was a fearless activist, trailblazing lawyer, and dedicated educator. Throughout his life, he played a leading role in campaigns for First Nations justice and land rights. Paul passed away on the 29 July 2025, at the age of 76, leaving behind a powerful legacy of resistance and reform.

Resistance and Reform

Black Power Movement

Paul Coe’s family had long been involved in resistance to domination and exploitation by white managers at the Erambie Mission.

He became involved in First Nations activism during the late 1960s in Redfern and that surrounding the 1967 referendum.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Sydney inner city suburb of Redfern was instrumental for First Nations activism. Between 1950 and 1976, the Aboriginal population of Redfern grew from 3,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. This was largely due to the greater freedoms of city life, as compared to rural NSW where segregation was still prominent.

Nevertheless, urban life was far from ideal. Redfern was categorised as a “slum” by Sydney social services, with insufficient housing and support services for the growing population. Additionally, the Sydney police were racist and oppressive, Gary Foley recounts his welcome to Redfern as being grabbed and bashed by Sydney police.

Coe’s cousin Pat Wedge was shot and killed by a railway patrolman at St Peter’s station in 1963. Coe himself suffered at the hands of the police, including being beaten and arrested by local officers and members of the Division 21 Riot Squad in 1973.

Inspired by the Black Panther Party in the United States, Coe and others in Redfern began monitoring police activity in 1969 to deter harassment. In doing so they drew on the Panthers’ “pig patrol” tactic. Unlike the US Black Panthers they were unarmed but by writing down officers’ numbers and license plates, and documenting harassment and raids, they helped to protect the Aboriginal community.

Alongside other activists, such as Professor Gary Foley, Sam Watson and Gary Williams, Coe established the Aboriginal Black Panther Party in 1971. The group adapted the United States Black Panthers’ ideas to address issues affecting Aboriginal people, including police harassment, inequality in education, health, and legal representation, and racism.

Coe described the essence of Black Power as being:

to take control both of the economical, the political and cultural resources of the people and of the land…so that they themselves have got the power to determine their own future.

Aboriginal Legal Service

Paul Coe was one of the first Aboriginal people to study law at the University of New South Wales and played a key role in responding to police oppression of First Nations people in Redfern.

Along with other community members, including Mum Shirl, Professor Gary Foley and Gary Williams, he helped establish the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) in Redfern in 1970. This was Australia’s first Aboriginal Legal Service and also the country’s first free legal aid service.

The service was founded to provide free legal assistance specifically to Aboriginal people facing discrimination, police harassment, and systemic injustice in the legal system. It was one of a number of initiatives that sought to support Aboriginal self determination by establishing community controlled services.

Others that opened during the early 1970s included the Aboriginal Medical Service, the Aboriginal Children’s Service and the Aboriginal Housing Committee. 

Solidarity Actions

Coe was one of the organisers of a 1970 solidarity march along George Street in support of the Gurindji (Wave Hill) strike, led by Vincent Lingiari, against the Vestey Company, advocating for workers’ rights and land justice for Aboriginal stockmen.

The strike inspired the Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly song, From Little Things Big Things Grow.

Coe also took part in many other protests and solidarity actions.

He addressed crowds at the 1971 Moratorium rally against the Vietnam War, drawing parallels between events in that country and his. He joined protests against the 1971 Springboks rugby tour. These demanded Australia cut all economic and cultural ties with the South African apartheid regime. Along with other Redfern activists he taunted the all-white team by donning a Springbok jersey.

As Professor Gary Foley later recalled in an interview with NITV,

“It was the perfect opportunity for a bit of political theatre on our part and it proved to be extraordinarily effective… South African rugby players were absolutely furious.”

Coe’s connection to rugby extended beyond protest as he was also involved in the Redfern All Blacks football team. 

Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Along with his sister Isobel, and other activists from around Australia, Coe was part of the Redfern meeting that resolved to establish the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on 26 January 1972.

Based on the lawns of the Federal parliament in Canberra the embassy represented the exclusion of First Nations people from Australian society and asserted their continuing sovereignty.

Coe took part in months of occupation and along with many others was injured during an eviction by federal police in July 1972. 

Planting of the Aboriginal Flag 

In 1976, Coe took the fight for First Nations sovereignty to the UK, and alongside Bundjalong man Cecil Patten, he planted the first Aboriginal flag on the shores of England.

This act was a direct challenge to the doctrine of Terra Nullius, which falsely depicted Australia as land belonging to no one before British colonisation.

A plaque was installed at Dover Beach in 2022 commemorating the protest action.

NSW Aboriginal Land Council

Paul Coe was involved in the formation of New South Wales’ first Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) in 1977. This followed a three day meeting of more than 200 community members at Redfern’s Black Theatre. Coe served on the organisation’s first interim council and was later elected its first treasurer after it became a statutory corporation recognised under NSW’s 1983 Land Rights Act. 

Coe v The Commonwealth

In 1979, Coe launched legal proceedings against the Commonwealth in the High Court, attempting to challenge the doctrine of Terra Nullius. These sought recognition of First Nations peoples as the prior inhabitants of Australia prior to European colonisation.

Although unsuccessful, the case was instrumental in laying the foundations for the landmark 1992 Mabo Case which overturned the doctrine of Terra Nullius. 

In the same year Coe, Lyall Munro Jr, Cecil Patten and others from the NSW Organization for Aboriginal Unity  camped outside Federal parliament. This was part of a campaign to have a bill of Aboriginal rights enshrined in the national constitution. The bill included provisions for land rights, reparations, and the protection of sacred sites.

Later Life

Paul Coe practiced law before moving on to teach Aboriginal studies at Eora TAFE. He continued to be involved in activism, including protests and events at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra.

In 2017 his contributions were honoured through him being one of the inaugural recipients of the NSWALC “40 Years Strong” Chairperson’s Award. He passed away on 29 July 2025.    

NSWALC Chairperson and Councillor for the Sydney/Newcastle Region, Raymond Kelly, said that Paul Coe was a Legend of the land rights movement:

Paul was an incredible fighter and will be remembered for generations to come. He has changed the lives of Aboriginal people across the nation, helping to establish the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the Aboriginal Legal Service and pointing out uncomfortable truths about police brutality and institutional racism.

Sources

This article has drawn on various sources including Professor Gary Foley’s thesis, Black Power in Redfern, 1968-1972, the NSWALC’s obituary for Paul Coe, Oskar Martin’s article A History of Black Power in Redfern, and issues of the Tribune newspaper shared on the National Library of Australia’s Trove website.

The Commons Social Change Website here