Jack Patten was one of the great Aboriginal leaders of the 20th century and set the agenda for the civil rights movement in Australia. The Yorta Yorta man spoke out against Aboriginal inequality with such vigour that his words resounded across the land.

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In the last years of his life, Jack established the Australian Aboriginal Elders Council of Victoria, of which he was president and reunited with William Ferguson to oppose the British atomic testing at Maralinga in South Australia. Sadly, he was killed in car accident in 1957. However, Jack left behind a rich legacy that inspired a new generation of Aboriginal leaders to carry on the fight in his name.