Neville Bonner

Neville Bonner
Bonner in 1979
Senator for Queensland
In office
20 August 1971 – 4 February 1983
Preceded byDame Annabelle Rankin
Succeeded byRon Boswell
Personal details
Born
Neville Thomas Bonner

(1922-03-28)28 March 1922
Ukerebagh Island, New South Wales, Australia
Died5 February 1999(1999-02-05) (aged 76)
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLiberal (1967–1983)
Independent (1983–1999)
Spouses
Mona Bonner
(m. 1943; died 1969)
(m. 1972)
Children5 boys
OccupationFederal Senator

Neville Thomas Bonner AO (28 March 1922 – 5 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of Queensland in the Senate, and later became the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to the parliament by popular vote. Neville Bonner was an elder of the Jagera people. In 2024, the bridge connecting Brisbane’s star casino to Southbank was named after Neville Bonner.