Person of the Year Mr Bob Randall, (Northern Territory) Alice Springs NT Tel: 08 89511344 Mr Bob Randall has been an active campaigner for the advancement of his people since the 1960's. He was born at Tempe Downs in the Northern Territory and is a member of the Pitjantjatjara nation. Music has been an important part in Bob's life and many of his recordings have been acclaimed and used in movies such as "The Fringe Dwellers". Bob's song, My Brown Skin Baby raises the issue of separated children. Bob's acting and music have featured in documentaries including Mixed Up Man, Secret Country, Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave. He has also acted as a consultant on Aboriginal issues for the South Australian Film Corporation. Mr Randall is currently employed with the Institute of Aboriginal Development in Alice Springs as a cultural teacher. His past experience and ability is proving to be a valuable asset to the Institute. He is actively engaged with people from all over the world who travel to Alice Springs to hear from him the cultural traditions of the Central Australia region. Elder of the Year (male) Geoffrey Shaw OAM (Northern Territory) Alice Springs Tel: 08 89528172 Geoffrey Shaw is a Kayteye man, born in 1945 in the Todd River. He grew up in Central Australia, going to school until year 8. He worked on cattle stations, then joined the army serving in Borneo, Malaya and two tours of Vietnam. On his return from active service, he found conditions of Aboriginal people in Alice Springs to be virtually unchanged from the time he had left. Realising the plight of Aboriginal people were in, he set aside his personal suffering shared by other Vietnam Veterans and began work as a Health Worker with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Geoff Shaw was also the General Manager of Tangentyere Council for over 20 years. Under his leadership Tangentyere Council developed into an effective and innovative organisation which the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody acknowledged as a model of self-determination. In 1979, Geoff Shaw participated in the redraft of the Northern Territory Electoral Act to accommodate the needs of Aboriginal people. In 1990, he was the first elected ATSIC Zone Commissioner for Central Australia and was awarded the Order of Australia medal for his work for Aboriginal people in 1993. Elder of the Year (female) Ms Zona Martin - (Queensland) Toowoomba Tel: 07 46342347 Zona Martin is an Elder and member of the Toowoomba and South West Queensland Aboriginal community as well as being the mother of 11 children. She has been involved in numerous Aboriginal and community organisations across Queensland often from their very beginning. Zona was instrumental in establishing and operating a Mobile Dental Clinic for Aboriginal families in South West Queensland as well as the creation of an Aboriginal Dental Health Service for the Aboriginal Community for the Toowoomba - Darling Downs region itself. Zona Martin was an ADC Commissioner in the period 1985 to 1989. She was appointed to the Establishment Board of the Queensland Trachoma organisation and is a foundation and long standing member of the board of the Downs Aboriginal Housing Company. Artist of the Year Mr Wenten Rubuntja - (Northern Territory) Alice Springs NT Tel: 08 89525855 Wenten Rubuntja is a Senior Arrernte lawman and a custodian of cultural sites in the Alice Springs region. He sees a great need for Aboriginal people to maintain knowledge of their country and culture and for the wider community to understand what this involves. Wenten paints in the dot and symbol technique, based on the traditional sand paintings of the desert, and in the landscape tradition made famous by his father's cousin, Albert Namatjira. He is a renowned artist in both traditional and landscape styles. Wenten has also done a number of paintings that have become the symbols and letterheads of the organisations for whom he has produced the work. In 1976 Wenten became Chairman of the Central Land Council. He has served several terms as President of Tangentyere and has had further terms as Chairman of the Central Land Council and President of Yipirinya School Council. He is also a former stock camp boss and drover, house builder, cook and a member of the original Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Sports Achiever of the Year Mr Nicky Winmar (Victoria) C/- Western Bulldogs Football Club Tel: 03 96806100 Nicky Winmar is the first Aboriginal player to play over 200 AFL games and the driving force behind the AFL's Racial Vilification Code. He practised his footy skills by leaping off tree stumps and tackling sheep at shearing time. He joined the St Kilda Football Club at the age of 21 and began his AFL career in 1987. He is a player of great skill - a spectacular, high-flying mark, a long, accurate kick, pin-point passes by hand and foot and a fierce and effective tackler. He played as a forward, being the Saints' leading goal-kicker in 1988. Early in the 1993 season, Nicky's match-winning performance against Collingwood at Victoria Park brought on some racist taunts from the Magpie cheer-squad. At the end of the game, Nicky responded by lifting his jumper and pointing to his black skin saying, "I'm proud to be black". He left the St Kilda Club last year to become a Western Bulldog. Scholar Achiever of the Year Ms Tracey Brand Alice Springs Telephone: 08 89525855 Tracey Brand is an Arrernte woman who began her working career in 1988 as a receptionist with the Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs. Through her diligence and hard work, Tracey gained promotion to the position of Executive Assistant. To further her career Tracey, a mother with three children then aged 6 months, 3 years and 4years old, gained a Professional Study Grant from ATSIC and moved to Adelaide to commence studies in a Bachelor of Business at the University of South Australia. She returned to Alice Springs and has been promoted to the Corporate Services Manager at Tangentyere Council. She is now studying for an Accountancy Degree. Apprentice/Trainee of the Year Mr Gary Bonney (Western Australia) Boulder WA Tel: 08 90930503 The WA Department of Training invited Gary to enter the WesTrac Equipment New Apprenticeships of the Year Award. This Award is granted annually to an outstanding apprentice to encourage the pursuit of excellence and to promote vocational training throughout Western Australia. The winner of this Award will represent Western Australia later this year and Gary is set to figure prominently. During the past three years Gary has assisted his employer in building the $1.5 million Bega Garnbirringu Health Service in Kalgoorlie, the $1.2 million Warta Kutiu Aboriginal Corporation and about 30 homes for Homewest Properties. Gary Bonney has gained his Carpentry Apprenticeship thanks to the Yawony Building Company. Youth of the Year (male) Mr Jeremy Geia (Northern Territory) Alice Springs Tel: 08 89501481 Mr Jeremy Geia has demonstrated outstanding diligence and capability in the field of media. Jeremy understands the effectiveness of media as a tool to articulate the views of Aboriginal people and undertakes extensive research to properly present issues in the media. Jeremy has adopted a strategic approach to representing Aboriginal issues in the media. This approach is important because his analysis is shaped by the factors that affect the daily lives of Aboriginal people. While Jeremy has worked for many years for Australia's National Broadcaster he has recently taken a job with the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association's IMPARJA Television. Non-Aboriginal media organisations have historically represented Aboriginal issues within a non-Aboriginal world view. Jeremy now aims to take the experience of working with a large broadcasting service and apply it to Aboriginal broadcasting. Youth of the Year (female) Ms Samantha Cook (Western Australia) Broome WA Tel: 08 9192 1991 Samantha Cook is Australia's only Aboriginal Designer working in indigenous Australian publishing. She is dedicating her career-to the advancement of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander publishing industry, its writers and artists. She has a bachelor of Visual Arts, majoring in computer animation, and video production. She is a stereotype-defying single parent of two children under the age of five. Samantha was a member of the Broome steering committee of last year's NAIDOC Festivities. She was awarded "Local Artist of the Year 1998" during the NAIDOC celebrations and was a finalist in the "Young Australian of the Year awards" and is presently a finalist in the "WA citizen of the year awards." Winner, Poster Competition Mr Warwick Keen - (NSW) Mr Warwick Keen is an artist and teacher from Tamworth in northern NSW. He interpreted the NAIDOC 99 theme, Respect, with a contemporary rendering of traditional Aboriginal design. Worked in black, brown, ochre and white, it features a stylised mother and child encircled by the Rainbow Serpent - the traditional creator and protector. The word "respect" appears on each side of the figures and the message "show some, earn some". Originally from Gunnedah, Mr Keen has family links in Coonabarabran and Brewarrina. He said his work conveys a sense both of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples and the responsibilities that come with that heritage. His winning work will be used for the NAIDOC Week promotional poster. The $5000 art prize will be presented in Alice Springs at the National NAIDOC Ball. Details from: http://www.atsia.gov.au/content/media/releases/naidoc_awardwinners.html ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
