efforts to further the cause of the Australian Aborigine". 1968 – promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 1970 – among Victorians invited guests to greet Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Australia 1972 – first Aboriginal to be knighted when he was appointed Knight Bachelor; he and his wife Gladys travelled to London to receive that honour. 1973 – appointed King of Moomba 1976 – appointed the 28th Governor of South Australia, the first Aboriginal person appointed to vice-regal office 1977 – appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) 1980s - the Sir Douglas Nicholls Sporting Complex in Thornbury named after him 1991 – the Canberra suburb of Nicholls named after him 2001 – a new chapel in Preston of the Northern Community Church of Christ, the church in which he was baptised, named after him 2002 – Establishment of the Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls Fellowship for Indigenous Leadership, renamed Fellowship for Indigenous Leadership in 2007 2006 – to commemorate the centenary of his birth, a statue of Nicholls, one-and-a-half times life size, was approved for the Parliament Gardens, beside the Parliament of Victoria; it was officially opened in December 2007 and was the first statue of an Aboriginal person erected in Victoria. 2011 – inducted to Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll 2016 – The AFL named their "Indigenous round" after him, and continue to do so. Each year, all 18 teams wear specially-commissioned artworks by Indigenous artists on their guernseys. 2018 – The federal electoral division of Murray is renamed Nicholls in honour of Sir Doug and Lady Nicholls. 2018 – a Google Doodle was created to celebrate his 112th birthday. 2022 – portrait on an Australia Post stamp, released on 7 July 2022, on the anniversary of Nicholl's first knighting, and also during NAIDOC Week; the eventual result of a request from Bev Murray, grandchild of Nicholls, and created in collaboration with Nicholls' daughter Aunty Pam Pederson Death Nicholls died on 4 June 1988 at Mooroopna. A state funeral was held for him and he was buried in the cemetery at Cummeragunja. Sources Clark, M. (1972) Pastor Doug, Lansdowne Press, Melbourne. References External links Source: Biography of Sir Douglas Nicholls (Pastor) Biography of Douglas Nicholls at Darebin Ethnic Communities Council site ABC Mission Voices – Cummeragunja. Koorie Heritage Trust The Great Australian: Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls 1906 births 1988 deaths