Dr Matilda House (b. 1945), is a Ngambri woman who has dedicated her life to the pursuit of social justice for Indigenous people. A tireless supporter of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy since its founding in 1972, she helped found the Aboriginal Legal Service in Queanbeyan in the 1980s and had a key role in establishing the Australian National University's Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre in 1989. On the eve of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in February 2008, she became the first person to perform the Welcome to Country at the opening of Federal Parliament. Her contribution to her community was recognised by the ANU with the conferral of the Degree of Doctor of the University in 2017.
Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra artist, scholar and curator Brenda L Croft's portrait is from a series honouring Cammeraygal woman Barangaroo (c. 1750–1791), whose resilience and fiercely held connection to place inspires many contemporary First Nations women. Croft employed the wet plate collodion process for the series because 'it doesn’t hide anything ... It's not about making people look like something that they're not. It’s about showing everything that you've lived through, all that you’ve learnt.'
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Finalist
Purchased with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2020
© Brenda L Croft/Copyright Agency, 2024
The Calvert-Jones Foundation (4 portraits supported)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
I have known Dr Aunty Matilda House, Ngambri Elder, Traditional Custodian and Cultural Knowledge Holder, since I was a child.
Linda Burney, Brenda Croft and Darrell Sibosado share memories of Michael Riley and his photographic practice.
