Torres, Patricia (1956 - )

Patricia Torres, of Yawuru, Nyikina, Bardi, Punuba and Walmatjarri descent, was born in Broome, Western Australia. She completed a secretarial training course, a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Diploma of Education.

Torres became a health worker with the national Aboriginal trachoma program in Western Australia. In 1978 she became a Legal Aid Field Officer with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, where she designed and conducted a statewide socioeconomic survey of Aboriginal families. She was a Curriculum Development Officer with the state Education Department in Hobart during 1981. Upon her return to Western Australia, she was appointed Secretary to the Kimberley Land Council at Derby. From 1982 to 1989 she worked for the federal Department of Education and Youth Affairs, serving in Broome, Darwin and Canberra.

Since then, Torres has concentrated on writing, art and community work. She has recorded Kimberley oral history, published a couple of bilingual children’s books which she also illustrated, created posters for national events and recordings of stories. She has worked with many Kimberley community organisations, including the Yawuru Aboriginal Corporation, Winarn Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, Magabala Books and the Broome Aboriginal Media Association.

Books

• Utemorrah, Daisy (illustrated by Pat Torres), Do not go around the edges, Magabala Books, Broome, WA, 1990, 29 pp. [ Details... ]

Book Sections

• Torres, Patricia, 'Writing for children: interview with Pat Torres', in Rutherford, Anna (ed.), Aboriginal culture today, Dangaroo Press, Sydney, 1988, pp. 191-197. [ Details... ]

Journal Articles

• Torres, Patricia, 'Aborigines and archaeologists', Australian Archaeology, vol. 10, 1980, pp. 9-10. [ Details... ]

See also

• Horton, David (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture, Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS, Canberra, 1994, 2 v. (xxxiii, 1340 p.) pp. [ Details... ]
• Roberta Sykes ; photography by Sandy Edwards, Murawina : Australian women of high achievement, Doubleday, Sydney, 1993, 185 pp. [ Details... ]