King’s Birthday honour for Aunty Millie

An appointment as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for service to the Indigenous community of NSW in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List, spurs her on even more, says Auntie Millie Ingram.

Ms Ingram, 85, grew up on Erambie Mission, near Cowra in NSW before moving to Sydney for work.

She has worked in factories and stores but she is honoured for her activism for Aboriginal people in areas from government to education and land rights.

She established the Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care program, which supports local Elders and today sits on the program’s board.

“If this gives me a voice and a platform that I can keep advocating for us to become a better Australia, that’s what I’ll do,” Ms Ingram said of the honour.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been recognised in thisyear’s honours list for their contributions to First Nations include the co-chairs of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria, Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart, and Harold Matthew, who co-founded the Torres Strait Island Running Festival and Thursday Island Deadly Runners.