John Newfong

John Archibald Newfong (3 November 1943 – 30 May 1999) was an Aboriginal Australian journalist and writer. A descendant of the Ngugi people of Moreton Bay, he was the first Aboriginal person to be employed as a journalist in the mainstream print media in Australia.

Early life Newfong was born on 3 November 1943 in Wynnum, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. His father, Ben "Archie" Archibald Nu Fong, was a Queensland champion heavyweight boxer, and his mother, Edna Crouch, played in the Australian women's cricket team which played England in 1935.

Newfong's family moved to North Stradbroke Island but, when Newfong was five, the family returned to Wynnum, where he attended the local school, and later, Wynnum High School. After graduating in 1961,

In 1972, Newfong was made the "chief spokesperson" for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra, where his media contacts and experience in the Canberra press corps were crucial in establishing a public image for the embassy. His political allies here included Gary Foley, Charles Perkins, Paul Coe, Isabel Coe, Gordon Briscoe and Chicka Dixon. from 1972 to 1973 and 1979 to 1980. This was an Indigenous Australian magazine funded by the Aboriginal Publications Foundation. According to Marcia Langton, the publication became "enormously influential" under his leadership. helping the inexperienced young women in its production.

In the annual Kennedy Awards, named after crime reporter Les Kennedy, the prize for outstanding Indigenous affairs reporting was named the John Newfong Award.

Adrian Atkins is writing Newfong's official anthology.