Exhibition to honour ‘visionary’ SA leader

By PETER ROWE

An exhibition to honour the life and work of Aboriginal leader Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue will open in Adelaide in June.

The exhibition at the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery at the University of South Australia, will showcase her “most iconic, triumphant, and heartbreaking moments”, featuring speeches, awards and never-seen-before letters and photographs.

Head of the Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation and Dr O’Donoghue’s niece Deb Edwards hopes the collection is drawn upon to educate present and future generations with bold truth-telling.

A Yankunytjatjara woman from the South Australia’s north, Ms O’Donoghue was removed from her mother at the age of two.

She worked as a nurse before a career in Indigenous activism, the 1984 Australian of the Year award and became the first Aboriginal person to address the United Nations General Assembly.

“Dr O’Donoghue was a trailblazing Aboriginal woman who was told she would never amount to anything,” she said.

“Throughout an exceedingly difficult early life, she evolved into a person with incredible internal strength, whose main aim was to always fight for justice and a better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“My Aunt entrusted me to carry forward her legacy and this exhibition is the perfect occasion to remember and honour her a year after her passing, whilst also providing an educational opportunity for school groups, Aboriginal community and professional groups, corporate and community organisations and the broader general public to learn more about an extraordinary South Australian Aboriginal woman whose notable achievements were recognised globally.”

The exhibition launches on Wednesday June 4 and runs until Friday, July 5.