David Unaipon

Readers note: This is an excerpt from the 200 Treasures exhibition catalogue, developed in 2017. This content was written as a brief biography on why this person was included in the exhibition.

David Unaipon astounded countless people with his brilliance and defiance of the racist ideas about Aboriginal people that prevailed in his lifetime. Unaipon has been described as Australia’s Leonardo da Vinci for his ability to apply scientific theories in his numerous ingenious inventions. He also attacked the ‘incalculable harm’ caused by racist ideas and appealed for greater understanding and better treatment from white Australia at a time when nationally organised Aboriginal activism was in its early stages. Unaipon was in many ways a man way ahead of his times.

In 1915, it was reported, ‘Unaipon claims to have invented a contrivance by means of which aeroplanes can rise vertically from the ground’, that is, the helicopter. He also developed nine other inventions that he patented. For a man of such extraordinary intellect, he had a very limited formal education. He was born on the Port Macleay Mission in South Australia in 1872, to parents James and Nymbulda who were both Yaraldi speakers. Unaipon’s father was a preacher, a calling Unaipon also followed, and his life and work were deeply shaped by his faith. After his elementary mission schooling, Unaipon entered domestic service at 13, but his employer recognised his brilliance and encouraged him to read widely. Unaipon did, but higher learning and an academic career, which were surely his due, were denied him. Nonetheless, his ever-inquiring mind drove him to continue his scientific studies, particularly the study of perpetual motion.

He travelled over a period of 50 years around Australia delivering lectures and sermons, and advised government on Aboriginal policy. The first Aboriginal to be a published author, Unaipon wrote poetry and works about Aboriginal myths and legends. He continued preaching until he was 87 and inventing into his nineties.