[1] His family was a small remnant of what Cooper recalled as a large tribal group, "As a lad I can remember 500 men of my tribe, the Moiras, gathered on one occasion.

On 4 August 1874, William Cooper, along with his mother, Kitty, his brother Bobby and other relatives arrived at Maloga, an Aboriginal mission on the Murray, run by Daniel and Janet Matthews.

Through these pastoral networks, he travelled much of Australia as a teenager, even seeing "the remains of the Burke and Wills Expedition at Cooper’s Creek" in the remote Lake Eyre Basin.

In a letter he wrote towards the end of his life to the missionary's youngest daughter, Alma, he recalled Daniel and Janet and the Maloga community in very warm terms:I often cast my mind back to them, and the dear old place, and at times it brings tears in my eyes when thinking of the glorious hours, days and months, we spent together; the beautiful singing, the picnics, the games.

Such a provision would enable them to earn their own livelihood ...[12]For most of his adult life, Cooper lived and worked in missions such as Maloga and Warangesda.

As its secretary, Cooper circulated a petition seeking direct representation in parliament, enfranchisement, and land rights, on the basis that all Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders were British subjects.

He made up his mind to petition King George V. Over several years, he and his team collected 1814 signatures, despite active obstruction from the national and state governments of the day.

[16]Cooper retired in November 1940 to reside with his wife at Barmah, near Echuca, Victoria; having been made an honorary life member and president of the Australian Aborigines League.

[17][18] Cooper continued protesting the injustice of the Australian treatment of its Indigenous people until his death at Mooroopna Base Hospital on 29 March 1941.

His funeral was held at the church in Cummeragunja, the service conducted by his nephew Edward Atkinson, and he was buried at the nearby mission cemetery.

[citation needed] Lynch Cooper enjoyed a career as an athlete, winning the 1928 Stawell Gift and in 1929 the world professional sprint championship competition.

[citation needed] Cooper had many prominent relatives in his wider family, including his protege, the church planter and Governor of South Australia, Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls, and the educator Thomas Shadrach James.

"[25][26] In a 1997 essay, historian Gary Foley argued that it was "probable that the ironies of the deputation’s visit to the German Consulate were part of the group’s strategy to draw attention to the similarities between what was happening in Germany and how Aboriginal people were being dealt with in Australia.

Rubinstein states there were in fact several other protests against Kristallnacht in Australia, which are "unremembered and unremarked by the Australian Jewish community today" compared with Cooper's actions.

The existence of Cummeragunja, which is still an Aboriginal community today under the stewardship of a local land council, may also be attributed to the work of Cooper.

The Maloga Petition which Cooper had signed and supported in his early years resulted in the Government allocating 1,800 acres (730 ha) of land for Aboriginal use.

In 2002, a plaque was unveiled at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne in honour of "the Aboriginal people for their actions protesting against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi Government of Germany in 1938".

[25] On 28 April 2009, five trees were planted at the Forest of the Martyrs near Jerusalem at a ceremony in Israel attended by Turner and about 12 members of William Cooper's extended family as well as a number of Jewish leaders.

On the same day, a ceremony at the Aborigines Advancement League in Melbourne was held to honour Cooper's "brave stance against the oppression of the Jews".

[41] In December 2010, there were three commemorative events: In 2012, Cooper was inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll in recognition of his role as a mobilizing force in the early struggle for Indigenous rights.

[47][49] The William Cooper Cup is an annual trophy awarded to the winner of an Australian rules football match between the Aboriginal All-Stars and Victoria Police at Whitten Oval in Footscray.