Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration
Each year the Don Dunstan Foundation presents the annual Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration named in honour of the late Dr O’Donoghue.
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG was a Yankunytjatjara woman who dedicated her life to improving the welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. She was named Australian of the Year in 1984 and was the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. She was the first Aboriginal woman to be inducted into the Order of Australia (AO) and was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Dr O’Donoghue was awarded Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1999 and Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great (DSG), a Papal Award, in 2005.
She passed away on February 4, 2024 on Kaurna Country.
The authorised biography ‘Lowitja’, written by Stuart Rintoul, was published in September 2020.
Orations
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Looking Back to Look Forward – lessons from the past to influence actions of the future
2023 | HON ANTHONY ALBANESE MP
A Moment to Unite
The Way Forward, Informed by the Past
Presented on the eve of Ms Burney being sworn in as Australia’s Minister for Indigenous Affairs
Continuing the story: resolving the issues that won’t go away
Today we continue that story through the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
2019 | DAVID RATHMAN AM PSM FIML
Storytelling: Culture, Truth-telling and the Arts
The Uluru Statement from the Heart: One Year On
On Aboriginal Land: Seeking a Place at the Table
2016 | THE HON. REV. DR LYNN ARNOLD AO
Lingua Nullius: A Retrospect and Prospect about Australia’s First Languages
2015 | PROFESSOR MARCIA LANGTON AO
Freedom Songs: The Unfinished Business of the 1967 Referendum
2014 | PROFESSOR PATRICK DODSON
Rights, Recognition and Reconciliation
Healing the Fault Lines: uniting politicians, bureaucrats and NGOs for improved outcomes in Aboriginal Health
2012 | THE HON. MICHAEL KIRBY AC CMG
Constitutions, interventions and other melancholy takes
Lowitja O’Donoghue and Native Title: Leadership pointing the way to identity, inclusion and justice.
Walking together on the Journey of Healing
2009 | DR JACKIE HUGGINS AM AND THE HON. FRED CHANEY AO
Bringing black and white Australians together
The Journey is Healing: How we go forward after ‘Sorry’
Black and White Together, We Shall Overcome, Some Day
