Ministerial Statement

TONGERIE, GEORGE

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:17): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement relating to the passing of Mr George Tongerie, a well respected Aboriginal elder and leader.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: On behalf of the South Australian government I would like to express our condolences on the sad news of Mr George Tongerie's passing on Wednesday 21 August 2013. Mr Tongerie was 88 years old. Tributes, condolences and messages of support for the family have come from right across the state as a mark of respect for Mr Tongerie.

The Premier attended the memorial service on 30 August 2013 on behalf of the South Australian government. I would like to especially pay tribute to and honour a man whose contribution to South Australia was significant in so many ways.

Mr Tongerie was born in Oodnadatta in 1925. His early childhood days were spent at Colebrook Home in Oodnadatta, later moving to the United Aborigines Mission Children's Home in Quorn, which was also referred to as Colebrook Home. It was here he received a primary school education, and from the age of 13 as a young man he went to work on a farm.

At the outbreak of war in 1939 Mr Tongerie moved to Adelaide where at the age of 17 he enlisted in the Air Force where he subsequently completed his mechanical training. I understand he was the second person of Aboriginal descent to have joined the Royal Australian Air Force.

It was during this time that Mr Tongerie met his wife, Maude, and they married in 1945. Mr Tongerie was later posted overseas to Borneo and Papua New Guinea for active duty. Mr Tongerie has been quoted as saying, 'not having a birth certificate enabled me to join. A rare occasion when a lack of recognition actually helped me to do something that I wanted to do.' I am advised that Mr Tongerie, like many other Aboriginal service men and women, were quite disappointed with the lack of recognition and treatment they received on their return home to Australia after the war. I am pleased to say this government is working to amend that deficit of recognition and reconciliation.

The Aboriginal War Memorial, next to the Torrens Parade Ground, will be officially opened on 10 November 2013. This memorial will recognise and pay respect to those Aboriginal service men and women who fought for their country and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. Mr Tongerie was a man who faced and overcame much adversity as a member of the stolen generations. We also know he was a pioneer in his day through his active service in the armed forces and his dedication to protecting Australia. Mr Tongerie was a proud digger and a proud South Australian.

On his return from active duty to Adelaide Mr Tongerie continued in his service to public life. He was a man who was very committed to advocating for the cultural, economic and social justice interests of all Aboriginal people. Mr Tongerie's commitment to public life continued up until the time of his passing. I am told that he was a foundation member of the Aboriginal Progress Association in Oodnadatta from 1964; a foundation member of the Council of Aboriginal Women Inc., from 1966; a community welfare worker from 1973 to 1979; a foundation member of the Aboriginal Community Centre, now Nunkunwarrin Yunti, from 1970, and its chairperson from 1978 to 1979; a foundation member of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Committee from 1978 to 1980; a member of the National Aboriginal Education Committee from 1979 to 1980; and a community development officer in regional and remote South Australia from 1980 to 1988.

He was responsible for the management of the service delivery of Aboriginal welfare programs from 1988 to 1992 and he was a member of the Aboriginal Lands Trust Board from 1983 onwards, and its chairman from 2001 onwards, representing a total of 30 years of dedicated service towards the advancement and wellbeing of Aboriginal people and their communities.

One of the first Aboriginal persons in South Australia to be appointed as a justice of the peace, he was also an Aboriginal ombudsman from 1992 to 1996. He was a member of the South Australian Parole Board from 1987 to 2002, and he was a family ambassador on the state government's Ministerial Advisory Committee from 1995 to 2002. This lifetime achievement has been recognised with Mr Tongerie awarded the South Australian Aboriginal Person of the Year award in 1985 for assisting with the welfare of Aboriginal people. In 1988 Mr Tongerie was awarded the Order of Australia medal.

Many people knew and respected Mr Tongerie, and South Australia has benefited from his 'can do' attitude, and that has been really a role model for many people in his communities. I would like to extend our condolences to his wife, Maude, and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as their extended family. It is also appropriate, I think, to extend our condolences to the Aboriginal communities across the state who also feel his passing, and a great loss at his passing. With his passing we have lost a great leader of our state and a great leader for the Aboriginal communities. He will be sadly missed, but long remembered. His legacy continues.