W.E.H. Stanner (1905-1981) helped to shape the growth of Australian anthropology, and his principal interest was the peoples of Daly River and Wadeye in the Northern Territory. Until the end of his life, he devoted to securing recognition of Aboriginal rights to land. Stanner was a member of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs and, in 1968, the ABC's Boyer Lecturer. He was a founding member of the Aboriginal Treaty Committee. Appointed to the chair of anthropology at the Australian National University, he served as head of the department of anthropology and sociology until his retirement in 1970.