[ { "Title\/Name": "Turner, Patricia Ann", "Entry ID": "AWE0225", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/turner-patricia-ann\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Aboriginal rights activist, Feminist, Public servant", "Summary": "Born and raised in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Patricia (Pat) Turner 's long association with Canberra began with a temporary position with the Public Service Board, leading to the Social Policy Branch of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) in 1979. Joining the Australian Public Service (APS) in Alice Springs as a switchboard operator in the Native Affairs Department , she moved to Canberra in 1978, joining the senior executive ranks of the public service in 1985, when she became Director of the DAA in Alice Springs, N.T. (1985-86). Pat then became First Assistant Secretary, Economic Development Division in the DAA, and in 1989, Deputy Secretary. She worked as Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet during 1991-92, with oversight of the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and with responsibility for the Office of the Status of Women among other matters. Between 1994 -1998, Pat was CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which made her the most senior Indigenous government official in Australia. After stints in senior positions at the Department of Health and at Centrelink, Pat Turner left the APS and Canberra in 2006, returning to Alice Springs with her mother to live. There, she has continued to advocate on the behalf of indigenous people, including taking on what she described as 'one of the best working experiences of my life' as CEO of National Indigenous Television (2006 -2010). (Interview) Other memorable experiences include the period when she was Festival Director of the 5th Festival of Pacific Arts in Townsville, Queensland (1987 -88) and when she held the Chair of Australian Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC (1998-99). Turner holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Canberra where she was awarded the University prize for Development Studies.\n", "Details": "Pat Turner, the daughter of an Arrente man and a Gurdanji woman, was born in 1952 and raised in Alice Springs. She had three Aboriginal grandparents and one white grandfather and asserts that '[t]he only thing I inherited from the latter was his surname'. (Closing the Gap) From the other three she inherited a strong sense of family and Aboriginal identity that has been a constant source of strength and support throughout the course of her life, regardless of where she was living. She is related to Aboriginal activist and public servant, the late Charles Perkins though her paternal grandmother's family line.\nThe third of five children, Turner was a good student who loved to read anything and everything. A book about the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, was one of her favourites, a fact that now makes Turner laugh. 'I can see the humour,' she says, 'in a little Aboriginal girl in the desert idolising a graceful dancer from Russia, but I can't really explain it!' (Interview)Life during term was a disciplined one with her mother and siblings, attending school, doing chores and homework and helping out her grandmother after school. During holidays, she would travel out bush with her Dad while he erected windmills on far flung properties. He was one of a handful of Aboriginal men who fought the odds to establish his own business. Although it meant he spent substantial amounts of time away from the family, it made a significant financial difference, not the least being the stability of home ownership. The family was able to gather the resources to build a brick home on the east side of town, away from the fibro cottages at 'The Gap' to the south.\nIn 1963 the family was shattered by Alec Turner's death in an accident at work. Apart from the obvious emotional trauma brought about by his death, the family experienced extreme financial hardship, as their mother experienced great difficulty in the search for permanent employment. As a widow, Emma Turner was entitled to welfare but the lack of respect she was accorded by the welfare officers charged with determining her fitness to receive a widow's pension had a profound impact on young Pat, who bristled with indignation and their intervention. Her mother's courage and grit in the face of such difficult circumstances was a constant source of inspiration. She was one of many strong women leaders in their community, says Turner, who kept their families together against many odds and with little assistance. 'Their integrity, courage and family values were second to none. They knew when and how to use their authority.' (Interview)\nAnother source of inspiration was that provided by the example of Uncle Charlie Perkins. In 1965, Woman's Day magazine provided funds for thirteen-year-old Pat and her Nanna Hetty Perkins to travel to Sydney to attend his graduation from Sydney University. The graduation ceremony had a very big impact on her and the importance of the model provided by her uncle, who stressed the importance of education to improving the lives of indigenous people, cannot be under-estimated. Pat determined that she would get a good education herself, and approached the local welfare branch in Alice Springs with her high school reports, telling them she wanted to go to school in Adelaide. In her third year at high school, and with a day's notice to travel, they agreed to her request.\nLiving in a Church of England Girls' Hostel that mainly housed white girls from the country, Pat began school in Adelaide at Adelaide Girls High School. She missed her family, but was not isolated from extended family. Indeed, she would attend Aboriginal Progress Association meetings with her Uncle John Moriarty, and met Don Dunstan on one occasion. Her time in Adelaide introduced her to Aboriginal politics and the history of their struggle for self determination and she brought that interest and commitment home when she returned for holidays.\nTurner transferred her enrolment to Nailsworth Technical College in her last two years so she could get some practical education in commercial subjects that she thought would help her to get a job. After obtaining her leaving certificate, she and some friends embarked on a working holiday around Australia. She stopped long enough in Melbourne to complete her matriculation through the Council of Adult Education.\nTurner's career in the APS began in the early 1970s. Returning to Alice Springs from Melbourne, she joined the Department of Interior (Welfare Branch) as a switchboard operator. Her tenure coincided with the election of the Whitlam Federal Government in 1972 and the subsequent extensive changes to the administration of Aboriginal Affairs in Australia, including the creation of a specific Department of Aboriginal Affairs. One of Turner's first acts as a public servant keen to influence the agenda was to request the role of driver for the Minister, Gordon Byrant, whenever he came to town, so that she 'could talk to him directly about the way things are'. (Interview)\nShe was still in Alice Springs when her talent was spotted and she was selected to receive training in a new program to establish community welfare offices. Upon completing this education, she moved from administration into a role as a welfare officer, the first Aboriginal woman to hold the position in Alice Springs. She became adept at rolling out programs to assist Aboriginal youths at risk and worked hard at building collaborative links between branches of the public service in order to achieve better outcomes for the public. This was a skill that she was renowned for throughout the course of her career, whether the tasks be working as a liaison officer at the Commonwealth heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Melbourne, in 1981, a member of the taskforce set to manage the Papal visit to Alice Springs in 1986, or directing the 5th Festival of Pacific Arts in Townsville, Queensland in 1987-88.\nAs time went by and her experience developed Turner became more committed to the politics of self determination for Aboriginal people over the assimilationist policies that prevailed. At a professional level, this meant being a firm supporter of community based service delivery of health and welfare programs for Aboriginal people. It also meant that she became increasingly frustrated by the tertiary studies in community development and social work that she undertook in 1976 at the South Australian Institute of Technology. Moving with a radical group of students, she found the subject offerings did not engage deeply enough with need for real social change, instead offering 'band aid solutions' that weren't relevant to Australian conditions.\nThe mid to late 1970s were a time of deep political engagement for Pat, as she connected with the politics of women's liberation, the union movement, the anti-uranium movement and the struggle for social justice and land rights for Aboriginal people. She was elected Vice President of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in 1976, and worked hard in the position to get students involved in Aboriginal politics. The organization itself underwent some stressful times, as the nature of Aboriginal politics changed and as funding for organisations became far more competitive. Pat eventually presided over the winding up of FACAATSI in the late 1970s.\nShe moved to Canberra in 1978 and got a temporary job with the Public Service Board in the Equal Opportunity Branch, undertaking an audit of APS positions to identify those that should be filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This gave her an ideal opportunity to learn and understand the APS pecking order, and the authority to shake up the thinking of some old heads. After meeting the human resources manager at the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, she was dismayed to be told that of a staff of two hundred, only twenty positions would be suitable! 'As a junior officer, I found myself telling quite senior staff to reassess their thinking'.(Interview) She also learned how resistant many individuals were to change. She used the time to observe, campaign, learn who was important, who had the power to get results, and how to get money to fund programs she was interested in. It was time well spent, because it provided demonstrable prove that a well prepared, effective public service could affect real change for the good. The summary note (above) indicates just how effective Pat was as a public servant.\nDetermined to use her position as a place where she could demonstrate her value while encouraging new ways of thinking about the administration of Aboriginal Affairs, Turner never described herself as a rebel; rather, she was an administrator who was prepared to speak up and put racists in the public service in their place. She learned the value of good preparation, of treating staff and colleagues with respect and stressed the importance of diversity; of people, and experiences, to the public service. And while she argues that people like Lowitja O'Donoghue and Charles Perkins were the real Aboriginal leaders in the public service, she accepts that her climb through the ranks did provide her with positional leadership opportunities that gave her the power to influence policy matters. She was lucky to be able to combine her personal interests with positional leadership, but was careful to never abuse this privilege, through her scrupulous attention to process and her devotion to hard work. Leadership, for her, was balancing the best interest of the government with the best interests of Aboriginal people. As a public servant, she was always driven to serve Aboriginal people to the best of her ability while fostering open lines of communication with the minister of the day and providing full and frank advice.\nTurner retired from the APS in 2006, not particularly happy with the state of the organisation she was leaving, but happy about the prospect of spending more time with family and focusing on grass roots projects. She worked on the development of the recently launched (2013) National Indigenous Television until 2010. In 2011, she was appointed to the advisory council of the Australian National Preventative Health Agency. Her much loved mother, whose courage and commitment to family were a constant source of support, passed away in 2010. Turner now lives back in Alice Springs with her sister and niece. And no matter how dissatisfied she might feel about how her career in the APS 'wound down' she is, deservedly, very proud of her own career. 'I've had a wonderful career,' she says, 'and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to contribute to nation building'. (Interview)\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/excerpt-of-speech-by-lowitja-lois-odonoghue\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/farewell-to-a-freedom-fighter-tributes-to-the-late-charles-perkins-1936-2000-at-his-state-funeral-at-sydney-town-hall-and-eulogy-by-patricia-turner\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/aboriginal-leader-who-can-shake-up-stand-up\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/public-policy-in-indigenous-affairs-no-miraculous-solutions-garran-oration-institute-of-public-administration-australia-conference-1996\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-human-rights-approach-to-development-assistance-an-indigenous-perspective\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/patricia-turner-am\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/administration-and-self-determination-paper-presented-at-the-aboriginal-peoples-federalism-and-self-determination-conference-1993-townsville-qld\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/indigenous-australians-and-tourism-conference-issues-revisited\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/mission-possible-bureaucrat-pat-turner-is-winning-a-private-battle-in-the-public-fields-of-race-and-government\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/turner-sounds-right-for-antic-task\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/closing-the-gap-when-and-how-will-australia-ever-become-truly-liveable-for-indigenous-australians\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/from-lady-denman-to-katy-gallagher-a-century-of-womens-contributions-to-canberra\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopedia-of-women-and-leadership-in-twentieth-century-australia\/", "Archival Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/pat-turner-interviewed-by-nikki-henningham-in-the-women-and-leadership-in-a-century-of-australian-democracy-oral-history-project-sound-recording\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Glynn, Freda", "Entry ID": "AWE3119", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/glynn-freda\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Atartinga, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Journalist, Radio Journalist, Television Journalist", "Summary": "Freda Glynn is co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Group of Companies (CAAMA).\n", "Details": "Freda Glynn spent her early childhood in and around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She was one of forty children to be evacuated from Alice Springs during World War Two following Japanese advances into the Pacific, particularly the bombing of Darwin and Katherine. With her mother and sister, she travelled via Melbourne to a Church Missionary Society evacuee camp in the Blue Mountains.\nIn 1980, with John Macumba and Philip Batty, Freda Glynn co-founded the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Group of Companies (CAAMA). CAAMA incorporates Imparja, the first Aboriginal commercial television station, which commenced broadcasting in 1988 in Alice Springs and was chaired by Glynn for a time. Imparja was responsible for broadcasting Urrpeye, an Aboriginal current affairs program. Freda Glynn also established the first licensed Aboriginal radio station, Radio 8KIN FM, broadcasting in regional languages. In 2002, she played Grandma Nina in the short film Shit Skin, a drama about a young man who takes his grandmother back to the place of her childhood so that she can reconnect with her surviving family. In May of that year, Glynn received the Award for Contribution to Indigenous Media at the Third Tudawali Indigenous Film and Video Awards held at the Sydney Opera House.\nGlynn was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, in the Australia Day Honours list in 1991, for service to broadcasting and to the Aboriginal community.\n", "Events": "Award for Contribution to Indigenous Media (2002 - 2002)", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/six-australians\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/satellite-dreaming\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/shit-skin\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-development-of-aboriginal-radio-and-television-in-central-australia-paper-presented-at-the-twelfth-general-conference-of-the-association-of-asian-social-science-research-councils-in-beijing-1997\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-womens-pages-australian-women-and-journalism-since-1850-2\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/", "Archival Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/oral-history-interviews-in-alice-springs-wattie-creek-and-darwin-nt\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/training-agreement-with-caama-imparja\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/school-girls-from-st-marys-home-in-alice-springs\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/pitjantjatjara-hits-the-airwaves\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/recordings-from-the-nt-history-radio-history-ayeye-ingkerreke-arrernte-language-reels-and-traditional-stories-caama-series\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/edited-transcripts-of-proceedings-of-the-media-and-indigenous-australians-conference-parkroyal-hotel-brisbane-16-and-17-february-1993\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Griggs, Natasha Louise", "Entry ID": "AWE4598", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/griggs-natasha-louise\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Parliamentarian", "Summary": "A member of the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory, Natasha Griggs was elected to the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament as the Member for Solomon, Northern Territory, at the election which was held on 21 August 2010. In 2008, before entering the Australian Parliament, she served in local government as an alderman and deputy mayor for Palmerston.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Kngwarreye, Emily Kame", "Entry ID": "AWE5171", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/kngwarreye-emily-kame\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Utopia Station, Alhalkere, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Artist", "Summary": "Read more about Emily Kame Kngwarreye in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopedia-of-women-and-leadership-in-twentieth-century-australia\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Shaw, Barbara Catherine", "Entry ID": "AWE5304", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/shaw-barbara-catherine\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Aboriginal rights activist", "Summary": "Read more about Barbara Catherine Shaw in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopedia-of-women-and-leadership-in-twentieth-century-australia\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Valadian, Margaret", "Entry ID": "IMP0213", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/valadian-margaret\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Death Place": "Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia", "Occupations": "Educator", "Summary": "Margaret Valadian was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on 26 January 1986 and Civil Member of the Order of the British Empire on 12 June 1976 for services to the Aboriginal Community.\n", "Events": "Awarded the honourary degree of Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University (1995 - 1995) \nBorn: daughter of O. Valadian (1936 - 1936) \nChair, Aboriginal Art Advisory Council (1970 - 1970) \nCompleted Master of Education, University of Hawaii (1969 - 1969) \nCompleted Master of Social Welfare, State University of New York (1973 - 1973) \nDepartment of Native Affairs, Western Australia (1966 - 1966) \nDeputy Chair, New South Wales Board of Adult Education (1984 - 1987) \nDirector, Aboriginal Education Centre, University of Wollongong (1978 - 1978) \nDirector, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teacher Aides Development Program (1976 - 1978) \nFounder and co-director, Aboriginal Training and Cultural Institute (Sydney) (1978 - 1990) \nGraduated Bachelor Social Studies, University of Queensland (first Aboriginal graduate of this university) (1966 - 1966) \nMember, Council of the Order of Australia (1998 - 2002) \nResearch Officer, Department of Territories Papua New Guinea (1964 - 1964) \nSocial Planning consultant, Schools Commission Canberra (1974 - 1974) \nVisiting Professor, Rural Education at the University of Alaska (1984 - 1984) \nWelfare worker, Welfare Board Northern Territory (1961 - 1962) \nWinner: Alumnus of the Year Award, The University of Queensland's Alumni Association (1996 - 1996)", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/whos-who-in-australia-2002\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopaedia-of-aboriginal-australia-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-history-society-and-culture\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/aboriginal-education-development-or-destruction-the-issues-and-challenges-that-have-to-be-recognised\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/never-too-late-videorecording\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/report-of-the-first-national-aboriginal-teacher-aide-three-day-workshop-and-one-day-seminar-held-at-the-bardon-professional-development-centre-brisbane-june-19-22-1978-hosted-by-queensland-depart\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/aboriginal-adult-education-paper-presented-at-national-conference-on-adult-aboriginal-learning-perth-september-1988\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/aboriginal-identity-instruction-and-interaction-at-an-experimental-training-workshop-at-a-n-u-canberra\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/aboriginal-womens-health-report-on-conference-on-health-notes-role-of-traditional-healers-problems-facing-aborigines-recommendations-for-health-care-programme-source-v-25\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/theyre-helping-aborigines-to-help-themselves-aboriginal-training-and-cultural-institute-m-valadian-and-mcnamara-teaching-management-skills-balmain\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/faith-hope-and-charity-australian-women-and-imperial-honours-1901-1989\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Sagiba, Mangiwa", "Entry ID": "AWE0996", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/sagiba-mangiwa\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Goulburn Island, Northern Teritory, Australia", "Death Place": "Goulburn Island, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "School principal", "Summary": "Mangiwa Sagiba was born and raised on Goulburn Island in the Northern Territory. She grew up in the bush, speaking the Aboriginal languages and was engaged in traditional activities from an early age. She was educated at the Methodist Mission School, where she learned to speak English. When she was 21, she went to Darwin to do three years' teachers training, and made visits to Hawaii and Fiji. Later, she attended a university course in Brisbane to learn how to read and write her own language. She became Principal of the school on Goulburn Island, which educates mainly Aboriginal children from pre-school age up to, but not including secondary school standard.\nA notice referring to 'the passing of a greatly admired educational leader, respected teacher and community leader' was published in the Northern Territory News on 29 July 2000.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/some-aboriginal-women-pathfinders-their-difficulties-and-their-achievements\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Cummings, Barbara", "Entry ID": "AWE1247", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/cummings-barbara\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Darwin, Northern Teritory, Australia", "Death Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Child welfare worker, Welfare worker, Writer", "Summary": "Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations, was brought up in the Retta Dixon Home. She graduated in social work and community development before working with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Northern Territory Government. She was involved with a number of organisations in a voluntary capacity and played a crucial role in the establishment of Karu, the Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agency in Darwin.\nIn 1991 Cummings received the Aboriginal of the Year award. She is the author of Take This Child which exposes the history of the removal of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.\nBarbara Cummings passed away in September 2019, aged 71. Many have paid tribute to the trailblazing Territorian, who became a powerful voice in Aboriginal affairs in Australia.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-black-grapevine-aboriginal-activism-and-the-stolen-generations\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/murawina-australian-women-of-high-achievement\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/talking-history\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Ah Toy, Lily", "Entry ID": "AWE1826", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/ah-toy-lily\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Darwin, Northern Teritory, Australia", "Death Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Businesswoman, Community activist", "Summary": "Lily Ah Toy was well known and respected across the Northern Territory; so well respected that, as part of the bicentennial events in 1988, she was one of only eight Territory women to be recognised for their contributions and achievements. Her family were key figures in the Pine Creek and Darwin (Northern Territory) Chinese communities, although, they came to be well regarded across ethnic boundaries, for the extent of their generosity and involvement in the community, her efforts in 1974 to assist people made homeless and hungry by Cyclone Tracy being a case in point.\nAt various times in her life, Lily was involved in school mother's clubs, church councils, the Red Cross and various Chinese organisations. In 1982, Lily graduated from the Northern Territory University with a diploma in ceramics. At 65 years of age she was the oldest graduate.\nLily's family was very poor but, through hard work and commitment, they made their place in the Territory. It is important that Lily and other Chinese Australians are now recognised as an important part of our Northern Territory history.\n", "Details": "When Lily Ah Toy (born Wong Wu Len) came into the world in Darwin in October 1917, her father didn't even register her birth. 'Well the war's on, and another girl', he said. The prospect that she might be adopted out to a woman in Darwin desperate for a daughter, an idea momentarily entertained by her Chinese born father, received short shrift, however, from Lily's Australian born (of Chinese descent) mother. As Lily says, she was lucky. And even though he was initially disappointed that Lily wasn't a boy, her father was very good to her, as he was to all his children. Sadly, he died when she was nine. At age fourteen she left school to become a housemaid for a European family. She worked there for three years, leaving when she married.\nLily became engaged at eighteen and married Jimmy Ah Toy, a hawker with his own market garden, in 1936 at the age of nineteen. After marrying, the couple moved to Pine Creek to work in the store owned by Jimmy's parents. They were to have five children, Edward, Laurence, Joyce, Grace and Elaine. At various times, they took on the responsibility of looking after Jimmy's younger brothers and sisters.\nAfter the bombing of Darwin in 1942 Lily was evacuated to Adelaide, where she cared for a large extended family. She returned to Pine Creek in 1945 to re-open the general store, with her husband. It was the first civilian store to open in the Top End after the war, providing vital services to prospectors, pastoralists, buffalo and crocodile hunters, and the local community. Lily managed this business by herself for four years while Jimmy helped to establish a general store in Darwin, before returning to Pine Creek. Lily eventually moved to Darwin permanently when her eldest son Edward took over the management of the Pine Creek business.\nLily was involved with many different organisations and assisted with the establishment of the Crafts Council NT (now Territory Craft). In 1982, at the age of 65, Lily graduated from the Darwin Community College (now Charles Darwin University) with an Associate Diploma of Arts (Ceramics); at the time she was their oldest graduate.\nIn 1988, as part of the Bicentennial Celebrations, Lily was one of eight Territorians honoured for their contribution to the Territory and in 1995, Film Australia produced her biography. 2001 saw Lily nominated to the Centenary of Federation Peoplescape project. She died in 2001. Her philosophy in life was 'work hard, always be honest and give a helping hand'.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Kettle, Ellen Sarah", "Entry ID": "AWE5166", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/kettle-ellen-sarah\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Colac, Victoria, Australia", "Death Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Administrator, Nurse", "Summary": "Read more about Ellen Sarah Kettle in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopedia-of-women-and-leadership-in-twentieth-century-australia\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Giese, Nancy", "Entry ID": "IMP0215", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/giese-nancy\/", "Type": "Person", "Birth Place": "Brisbane, Queensland, Australia", "Death Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Community Leader, Educator", "Summary": "Dr Nancy (Nan) Giese was a pioneer of education and the visual and performing arts in the Northern Territory. She was strongly involved in planning and setting up the first tertiary institutions and for ten years was elected Chancellor of the Northern Territory University, now Charles Darwin University.\n", "Details": "Born in 1922 in Brisbane, Queensland, to Robert and Daisy Wilson, Nancy Giese was a champion of education and the arts and one of the Northern Territory's most important leaders. The extent of her contribution to community life is reflected in the numerous honours she received, culminating in her 2004 award of Doctor of Education, honoris causa, from the university she was instrumental in founding, and which she served as Chancellor for ten years. The citation described her as 'a true pioneer within our community, recognizing needs and then taking the lead in the creation of amenities and institutions to meet those needs.' Other awards include Officer of the Order of Australia in 1997, OBE in 1977, the Centenary Medal and the Administrator's Medal in 2003, and Tribute to Northern Territory Women in 2005.\nEducated at Brisbane Girls' Grammar School and the University of Queensland, as a young teacher she joined the flying squad travelling around the state's schools promoting health and fitness. Her boss was Harry Giese, the first Queensland Director of Physical Education (1944-47), whom she married in 1946. Their dynamic partnership powered their years in Darwin from 1954, through pioneering initiatives in education and health.\nNan Giese saw immediately that families were leaving the Northern Territory, 'good citizens lost to a developing society that badly needed them', because their children could not matriculate. She lobbied tirelessly for full secondary education and for 'amenities that were the most modern in Australia when they were built', as Trevor Read, Principal of Darwin High School, noted. She became a key member of groups such as the Graduates' Association demanding tertiary education for Territory students as part of the full range of opportunities from pre-school to post-graduate research available to other Australians. In the late 1960s a Commonwealth government report looked to the successful American model of community colleges, and recommended an independent tertiary institution which could offer both higher education and technical courses. She was a member of the planning committee and later Chair of the Council of the Darwin Community College (DCC), the prototype community college in Australia. Its labs and trade workshops, classrooms, art studios, a library, a theatre and student accommodation, opened in 1974. At the end of that year, Cyclone Tracy swept them all away.\nBut this was just the beginning. Nan Giese and others persisted, and in January 1989 the Institute of Technology that succeeded the DCC amalgamated with the embryo University College to form the Northern Territory University, now Charles Darwin University. Bridging courses and scholarships for Indigenous people were set up and education for regional and remote areas became a priority.\nFrom the 1960s, Nan Giese was on the founding committees and led arts organizations such as the Arts Council of the Northern Territory, the Darwin Performing Arts Centre Board and the Museums and Art Galleries Board of the Northern Territory. The Arts Council flew in international groups from the Baranggay Dance Troupe from the Philippines to the Polish Chamber Orchestra, and toured them throughout the Territory from Milingimbi to Alice Springs. The Performing Arts Centre and the waterside Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory opened just after Territory self-government. They are large and beautiful buildings and thriving community hubs. They enhance the modern city that has replaced the post-War frontier town of Darwin.\nIn all these initiatives 'there seems to be this one link, this thread right through from the beginning, the one person who's been a driving force through all those years when others have come and gone, either left Darwin or given up', said Nan's friend and fellow pioneer of Territory tertiary education, Joyce Cheong Chin.\n", "Events": "Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) (1971 - 1971) \nAppointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (1997 - 1997) \nAppointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) (1977 - 1977) \nBorn the daughter of R. Wilson (1922 - 1922) \nChairman of the Darwin Community College Council (1976 - 1985) \nChancellor of the Northern Territory University (1993 - 2004) \nCommissioner of the Northern Territory Vocational Training Commission (1983 - 1985) \nCommittee member of the Darwin Community College (1969 - 1971) \nDeputy Chancellor of the Northern Territory University (1989 - 1993) \nDirector of the Darwin Performing Arts Centre Board (1984 - 1993) \nDoctor of Education, honoris causa, Northern Territory University (2004 - 2004) \nFounding committee member of the Arts Council of the Northern Territory (1968 - 1983) \nFounding committee member of the Museums and Art Galleries Board, Northern Territory (1964 - 2000) \nLife member of Darwin Performing Arts Centre Board (1993 - 1993) \nMarried Harry Christian Giese (1946 - 1946) \nMember of the Darwin Community College Interim Council (1972 - 1976) \nMember of the Darwin Hospital Advisory Board (1969 - 1973) \nMoved with family to Darwin, Northern Territory (1954 - 1954) \nNorthern Territory Senior Australian of the Year (2001 - 2001) \nPresident of the Arts Council, Northern Territory (1972 - 1985) \nPresident of the National Council of Women, Northern Terrority (1970 - 1972) \nTeacher, Queensland Education Department (1938 - 1946) \nVice-President of the Arts Council Australia; also served on Music Board (1975 - 1980) \nVice-President of the North Australian Eisteddfod Council (1968 - 1972)", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/nancy-giese\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/whos-who-in-australia-2002\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/trove\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/faith-hope-and-charity-australian-women-and-imperial-honours-1901-1989\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-encyclopedia-of-women-and-leadership-in-twentieth-century-australia\/", "Archival Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/nancy-nan-giese-collection\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/biographical-cuttings-on-nan-giese-containing-one-or-more-cuttings-from-newspapers-or-journals\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Olive Pink Botanic Garden", "Entry ID": "AWE0254", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/olive-pink-botanic-garden\/", "Type": "Place", "Birth Place": "Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Public Gardens", "Summary": "The Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, located in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory were established in 1956 by their founder, anthropologist Olive Pink. Originally named the Australian Arid Regions Native Flora Reserve, an then the Olive Pink Flora Reserve, Miss Pink and her Warlpiri assistant gardeners worked for nearly two years to establish a public area for the appreciation of central desert native fauna.\nOlive Pink lived in the Tanami desert in Central Australia with Aboriginal people for 36 years before starting work on a Floral Reserve at Alice Springs in 1956. Miss Pink worked on the development of the sixteen-hectare reserve with the assistance of Aboriginal gardeners until her death in 1975. The Olive Pink Botanic Garden opened to the public in 1985.\n", "Details": "The following is a summary of an article by Stuart Traynor, Trustee of the Olive Pink Flora Reserve, appearing in The Australian Garden Journal:\n\"The Olive Pink Flora Reserve\u2026is situated on the east bank of Alice Springs' dry Todd River. The 16ha reserve was gazetted in 1956. Olive pink was granted an occupational lease on part of the reserve on condition that she act as honorary curator. She lived there in a galvanised iron shed until she died in 1975 at the age of 91.\n\"It was Miss Pink's intention that the reserve contain representative specimens of the desert flora of Central Australia. It was to this end that she and her Aboriginal gardener Jonny Jambijimba Yannarilyi worked. Following her death the reserve was renamed Olive Pink Flora Reserve and is managed today as a tribute to her vision and tenacity. It is currently Australia's only established arid zone botanic garden despite the fact that nearly three quarters of the continent is arid land.\n\"The reserve has over 300 of the Centre's 800 plant species on display. Sections of the reserve are being developed to represent distinct habits within Central Australia. These include a sand dune system, mulga woodland, a rocky waterhole and, below it, a creek flood out area. These areas are enhanced by the original vegetation of the rocky hills which surround much of the reserve.\n\"The reserve aims to increase appreciation of Australia's arid zone flora and encourage the use of indigenous native vegetation in Central Australian gardens and landscape design.\"\n", "Published Resources": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/miss-pinks-garden-the-creation-of-an-arid-zone-botanic-garden\/ \nhttps:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/the-olive-pink-flora-reserve\/" }, { "Title\/Name": "Women's Museum of Australia", "Entry ID": "AWE1140", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/womens-museum-of-australia\/", "Type": "Organisation", "Birth Place": "Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia", "Occupations": "Museum, Research Centre", "Summary": "Initially known as the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, the Women's Museum of Australia has heen locat\u00aded on the site of the Old Alice Springs Gaol since 2007.\n", "Details": "In February 1993 a public meeting was called in Alice Springs to gauge the extent of community interest in establishing a project that commemorated the lives of the 'pioneer' women of Australia. There proved to be immense interest and a committee was formed to determine how best this aim could be achieved, and how funds might be raised in order to do so. Mrs Molly Clark, of Old Andado Station in Central Australia, contributed much of the early organisational drive as well as an important geographic focus for fundraising efforts. One of the key aims of the organising committee was to raise money to create a purpose-built museum, including an art gallery and research area in Alice Springs. 'Molly's Bash', the main annual fundraising event, was held on Mrs Clark's property from 1993.\nIn March 1994 the Northern Territory government, on behalf of the organisation, leased the Old Courthouse, a 1928 heritage-listed former government building located in Alice Springs' CBD. The organising committee successfully applied for funding to establish important on-line exhibitions. 'Women at the Heart', 'First in their Field' and 'Women's Work'. Since 2007, the Museum has been located on the site of the Old Alice Springs Gaol.\nAlthough the concept was originally promoted as one that would, importantly, preserve and protect the stories of local women, the project quickly became national in scope. As the mission statement ('to edu\u00adcate, inspire and empow\u00ader peo\u00adple by explor\u00ading the dis\u00adtinc\u00adtive his\u00adto\u00adry and con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions of Aus\u00adtralian women') suggests, it isn't only rural and regional women who are celebrated.\n" }, { "Title\/Name": "Northern Territory Local Court", "Entry ID": "AWE5942", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/northern-territory-local-court\/", "Type": "Organisation", "Birth Place": "Northern Territory, Australia", "Summary": "The Northern Territory Local Court was established by the Local Court Act 2015. The Court hears criminal and civil matters. Among changes to be introduced in 2016, magistrates were renamed judges and the limit of civil claims was raised from $100,000 to $250,000.\n" }, { "Title\/Name": "Northern Territory Women Lawyers' Association", "Entry ID": "AWE5943", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/northern-territory-women-lawyers-association\/", "Type": "Organisation", "Birth Place": "Northern Territory, Australia", "Summary": "The Northern Territory Women Lawyers' Association was established in the 1980s.\n" }, { "Title\/Name": "Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission", "Entry ID": "AWE5954", "Entry URL": "https:\/\/www.womenaustralia.info\/entries\/northern-territory-anti-discrimination-commission\/", "Type": "Organisation", "Birth Place": "Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia", "Summary": "The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission was established in 1993 with the aim of eliminating discrimination by raising awareness about the rights and responsibilities of individuals under the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Act. The Commission has three main roles: public education and training; the handling of complaints and community engagement.\n" } ]