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Elphick, Gladys (1904 - 1988)

MBE

Born
27 August 1904
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Died
19 January 1988
Occupation
Welfare worker and Community worker

Summary

A Kaurna woman, Gladys Elphick was born in Adelaide and brought up on the Point Pearce Reserve. Elphick's life long work against discrimination and exploitation of Aboriginal people included her formation of the Aboriginal Women's Council and, with others, a legal aid service, medical service and the Aboriginal Community Centre in Adelaide. Also well known as 'Aunty Glad', Elphick was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1971 for services to the Aboriginal community. In 1984, during National Aborigines Week, Elphick was named South Australian Aboriginal of the Year.

Horton (ed) (1994), Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia; Healey (2001), S.A.'s Greats.

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Published resources

The Australian Women's Register Exhibitions

Conference Proceedings

  • The Aborigines of South Australia : their background and future prospects : proceedings of a conference held at the University of Adelaide, June 13-16, 1969, Adelaide, 1969, 174 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Elphick, Gladys, 'Current problems of Aborigines', Australian Journal of Science, vol. 32, no. 11, 1970. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'Everybody knows her as Auntie Glad', SA Aboriginal Affairs Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 1, 1979, p. 10. Details
  • 'Gladys battles for her people.', Adelaide Advertiser, July 9, p. 5. Details
  • Elphick, Gladys, 'Permit system keeps people on reserves : changed attitude must come from whites', Origin, vol. 1, no. 2, 1969, p. 8. Details
  • Hirst, C., 'Aboriginal Honour for Glad', Adelaide Advertiser, September 7, p. 3. Details

See also

  • C.A.W.S.A. : newsletter of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia Inc., 1968-. Details
  • 'Honours for Aborigines', Identity, 01 Jan, p. 34. Details
  • Aboriginal people and their communities today, Years 5-7., Education Dept. of South Australia, Adelaide, 1988, 44 pp. Details
  • The Kaurna people : Aboriginal people of the Adelaide Plains : an Aboriginal studies course for secondary students in years 8-10., Education Dept. of South Australia, Adelaide, 1989, 266 pp. Details
  • Baker, Suzanne; Isaac, Janet; Grenville, Kate, Sister, if you only knew [videorecording], Film Australia, 1975. Details
  • Bandler, Faith, Turning the tide : a personal history of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS, Canberra, 1989, 173 pp. Details
  • Beeson, Margaret J (compiled by), Some Aboriginal women pathfinders : their difficulties and their achievements, Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Australia, Adelaide, [1980], 80 pp. Details
  • Berndt, Ronald M. (ed.), A Question of choice : an Australian Aboriginal dilemma; A collection of papers Advancement of Science Congress, Adelaide, 1969., University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, W.A., 1971, 123 pp. Details
  • Brown, Christine, 'High-flyers at Wilto Yerlo / Students soar at Wilto Yerlo. Koori Mail Education', Koori Mail, 08 Sep, p. 29,37. Details
  • Brown, Christine, 'Nunkuwarrin Yunti celebrates 30 years. SA', Koori Mail, 17 Apr, p. 25. Details
  • Conference on Aboriginal Affairs (8th : 1965 : Canberra, A.C.T.) (ed.), Reports and resolutions, Canberra, 1965, 51 pp. Details
  • Elizabeth Kwan, Living in South Australia : a social history, South Australian Government Printer, Netley, S. Aust., 1987, 2 v. (xiv, 194; xiv, 201 p.) pp. Details
  • Gale, Fay; Brookman, Alison, Race relations in Australia : the Aborigines, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, 1975. Details
  • Gilbert, Kevin, Living black: blacks talk to Kevin Gilbert, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., 1977. Details
  • Graham, Doris May; Graham, Cecil Wallace, As we've known it : 1911 to the present, South Australian College of Advanced Education, Underdale, 1987, 95 pp. Details
  • Healey, John (ed.), S.A.'s greats: the men and women of the North Terrace plaques, Historical Society of South Australia, Adelaide, 2001, 183 pp. Details
  • Horner, Jack, 'Details of pioneers in Aboriginal movement.', Identity, 01 Jan, pp. 10-11. Details
  • 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
  • Jackson, Russ, 'The role played by Aboriginal women in South Australia, particularly among urban Aborigines, since 1945', Cabbages and Kings, vol. 14, 1986. Details
  • Mattingley, Christobel; Hampton, Ken, Survival in our own land : 'Aboriginal' experiences in "South Australia' since 1836; told by Nungas and others, Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 1988, 339 pp. Details
  • Rowe, Gordon, Sketches of outstanding Aborigines; Extracts from an Australia Day address at Maughan Methodist Church P.S.A., Adelaide, on Sunday, January 29th, 1956., Aborigines' Friends' Association?, Adelaide?, 1956. Details

Clare Land

Created: 4 October 2002, Last modified: 4 May 2009

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