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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-06-21 Daily Xml
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Jackson, Aunty Elsie

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of a prominent Aboriginal elder. Can the minister tell the chamber about the impact that Aunty Elsie Jackson had on the South Australian community?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:36): I thank the honourable member for his question. On Monday in Port Augusta, at the request of her family, I had the immense privilege to speak at the funeral service of Aunty Elsie Jackson. It is always a great loss to our community when an influential leader who has made such a significant impact on the lives of young people passes away.

Aunty Elsie leaves behind a great legacy for those young people who will now carry on her work as champions of Aboriginal education, and who will ensure that the traditional language, culture and stories of the Adnyamathanha people are not forgotten. Aunty Elsie led an incredible life and touched the lives of many people across the Port Augusta region. There were hundreds of people, if not over a thousand people, at the Port Augusta sports complex paying their respects, which is a mark of how many people's lives she touched.

The service was about celebrating the life of Aunty Elsie Jackson and remembering her achievements during the last 71 years. An Adnyamathanha elder, Aunty Elsie was born in 1946 at Nepabunna in the northern Flinders Ranges, the 13th of 14 children. Education must have been in her blood, as I am told that she did not want to leave school after completing her studies. She remained as a teacher's aide, becoming one of the few women in the community at the time to have paid employment.

At 30 years old and still at Nepabunna school, Aunty Elsie became the first Aboriginal education worker in South Australia. In 1981, she moved to Port Augusta and worked as an Aboriginal education worker and student support worker at Port Augusta High School, where she taught Aboriginal studies and even drove the school bus for a number of years.

There would be few families in Port Augusta who have not in some way been touched by Aunty Elsie. She taught her culture to students, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, and teachers alike and did much work in many community groups. When she was in her 50s, Aunty Elsie completed year 12 Aboriginal Studies and got 20 out of 20 for the subject. For this, she received a certificate and very proudly attended Government House to receive her certificate for getting top marks in that subject.

Her love of cooking and teaching young people about the traditional methods of gathering food and preparing bush tucker were noted. Cooking damper and kangaroo tail during NAIDOC and Reconciliation Weeks ensured that those traditions were not lost on new generations. A story was told at the service about the time she got a young teacher to get the ingredients for damper, such as the flour and the water, and the young teacher had all sorts of problems finding sand in the aisle of the supermarket to buy to cook the damper in!

A dedicated volunteer with the early years parenting program in the town, she created the Emu Trail Mobile Playgroup. She was involved in many children's groups and programs dedicated to connecting elders with their grandchildren at the centre. Aunty Elsie also made a significant contribution not just to the education of young Aboriginal people but also to the very important work of preserving the Adnyamathanha language.

An important custodian of traditional language and stories, as well as being a consultant for an insight into the early mission history of Nepabunna, Aunty Elsie also contributed to the Flinders Ranges Dreaming collection of Adnyamathanha traditional stories, with her telling of 'The Euro and the Kangaroo' and 'How the Moon Got the Mark on His Belly'. She also shared stories and historical knowledge in the Aboriginal Studies course book The Adnyamathanha People for secondary students in 1992 and consulted on the ABC's The Dreaming video series in 2004 and the Australian Children's Television Foundation's 'Language of Belonging'.

It is fitting that this year's theme for NAIDOC week in July is 'Our Language Matters'. It promotes the importance of language for cultural identity, a truth that Aunty Elsie embodied both in passion and in practice. At last year's Gladys Elphick awards, I was very proud to be able to present the regional award to Aunty Elsie for her work in actively contributing to the community at a local, state and national level. Aunty Elsie's passion for education and for her culture and heritage will live on through the young people that she taught, mentored, counselled and inspired. Her drive for ensuring education was accessible to all Aboriginal communities and ensuring that the Adnyamathanha language continues on is one of her proud legacies.

Again, I thank the honourable member for his question and his work in Aboriginal affairs on the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee and pass my condolences on to all of Aunty Elsie's family and friends.

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