1994, 26.5 Minutes

Australian Biography Series 3

Lois O'Donoghue was born in 1932 in a remote Aboriginal community. She never knew her white father and, at the age of two, was taken away from her mother, who she was not to see for 33 years. After a long struggle to win admission to a training hospital, Lois became the first black nurse in South Australia. In 1976, she was the first Aboriginal woman to be awarded an Order of Australia. In 1983 she was honoured with a CBE and in 1984 she was made Australian of the Year. In 1990 she became the founding chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. Since this Australian Biography interview, she has changed her name to Lowitja O'Donoghue.

A Film Australia National Interest Program

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Sharon Connolly

Frank Heimans

Frank Heimans

Frank Heimans

Robin Hughes (Interviewer)

Level: Secondary, Tertiary, Lifelong Learning

Subject areas: Australian History, Business Studies, Civics and Citizenship, English, Indigenous Studies, Justice Studies, SOSE. Level: Secondary, Tertiary.

 Australian Biography: Lois O'Donoghue Teachers Notes (Acrobat PDF Document, 135Kb)

SBS, 18/12/2001
SBS, 22/2/2002