FCAATSI
The first national conferences on Aboriginal affairs drew up a series of goals relating to citizenship, living standards, education and land ownership. Charles Duguid became its first president and Stan Davey, the secretary. The council adopted a constitution opening membership to two classes of members: organisations having Aboriginal advancement as their main platform, and others that simply supported council objectives. By 1965, fifty-six organisations had affiliated with FCAATSI. One of the council's major tasks was a petition, originally drawn up by the Aboriginal Australian Fellowship of NSW, to hold a constitutional referendum. The record 'yes' vote when the referendum was eventually conducted in 1967 was a triumph for FCAATSI. Whereas only four Aboriginal people had participated in the 1958 conference, two hundred took part in 1968. Aboriginal discontent erupted at the 1970 conference, causing a split and the formation of a new, wholly Aboriginal organisation, the National Tribal Council. FCAATSI went into decline after the Labor party's victory at the 1972 federal elections and the subsequent establishment of the DAA. FCAATSI played a vital role in Aboriginal affairs between 1960 and 1972. In that era the council fought a number of issues, including the case of Albert Namatjira and the liquor prohibitions on Aborigines, and the exclusion of Aborigines from cattle station awards in the Northern Territory; the plight of Aborigines near Maralinga and other scientific sites; the removal of the people from what was called 'Old' Mapoon in north Queensland; the inadequacy of educational facilities for Aborigines; the matter of federal voting rights for Aborigines; land rights and compensation for dispossession; and the right of the Commonwealth to legislate on or for state Aborigines, culminating in the vigorous campaign for the 1967 referendum.