Australian biography may obrien

May O’Brien is an excerpt from the program May O’Brien (26 mins), an episode of Australian Biography Series 11 (7×26 mins), produced in 2007.

Australian Biography Series 11
The Australian Biography series profiles some of the most extraordinary Australians of our time. Many have had a major impact on the nation’s cultural, political and social life. All are remarkable and inspiring people who have reached a stage in their lives where they can look back and reflect. Through revealing in-depth interviews, they share their stories – of beginnings and challenges, landmarks and turning points. In so doing, they provide us with an invaluable archival record and a unique perspective on the roads we, as a country, have travelled.

A Screen Australia National Interest Program.

Aboriginal author and educator May O’Brien was born into the traditional life of the Wongatha people of Western Australia and educated on the remote Mount Margaret Mission. May became the first female Aboriginal teacher in Western Australia, fulfilling her dream and returning to the mission to teach.

In this interview, May discusses growing up in a bush camp and her early years on a remote mission. There, May joined other displaced Aboriginal children, many of whom were removed from their families by force or under duress—these were the children of the ‘Stolen Generations’.

While she was not ‘stolen’, May’s experiences in the institutions are very similar to those who were. She grew up in a time and place where laws relating to Aboriginal people were particularly overprotective. The Native Administration Act of 1936 extended the Chief Protector’s powers in WA, giving him personal control over every area of life for an Aboriginal person: marriage, children, health, employment, education, residence and legal representation.

Over 25 years, May fought for Aboriginal rights and helped create opportunities for her people, bridging the gap between cultures. May discu

Synopsis

Born into the traditional life of the Wongatha people of Western Australia and educated on the remote Mount Margaret Mission, Aboriginal author and educator May O’Brien has profoundly influenced Indigenous education. May became the first female Aboriginal teacher in Western Australia, fulfilling her dream and returning to the mission to teach. As an educator over 25 years, May fought for Aboriginal rights and helped create opportunities for her people, bridging the gap between cultures. She helped establish Aboriginal committees on education around Western Australia and worked on the first report into Aboriginal education. In 1984 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study programs on Indigenous issues in the USA, Canada and Great Britain and went on to hold senior positions in the Department of Education. Since retiring, May has been writing children’s books which include Aboriginal language. As an ambassador for numeracy and literacy, she remains involved in a wide range of community activities.In this interview, May discusses growing up in a bush camp, early years on a remote mission, her lifelong fight to get better education for Aboriginal children and more Aboriginal teachers, working in a male-dominated system and the joy of writing books which include her own language.

Curriculum links

This program will have interest and relevance for teachers and students at secondary and tertiary levels. Curriculum links include English, SOSE/HSIE, Australian Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Education and Media.

Australian educator and author (1932-2020)

May Lorna O'BrienBEM (20 May 1932 – 1 March 2020) was an Australian educator and author.

Life and career

Born May Lorna Miller of the Wongatha people, in Laverton, Western Australia, at the age of five she was removed to the Mount Margaret Aboriginal Mission. She later attended Perth Girls School.

In 1953, she received her Teacher's Certificate at Claremont Teachers College. She was the first known Aboriginal woman in Western Australia to graduate from a tertiary institution. Her first teaching appointment was back at Mount Margaret.

After teaching for 25 years she moved into education policy, working for the Western Australian Ministry of Education and the Aboriginal Education Branch. She retired from her position as Superintendent of Aboriginal Education in 1988.

In retirement, O'Brien continued to work for Indigenous literacy and education writing bilingual books, and was one of the early ambassadors for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

She died aged 87 on 1 March 2020 in Perth. Her public funeral and memorial service was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Awards

She was awarded the British Empire Medal on 31 December 1977 for work in Aboriginal education. For this she was also awarded the John Curtin Medal. She was a delegate for Australia at the United Nations Conference on Women in Denmark in 1980. In 1984 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study programs focused on enabling Indigenous peoples to retain their own cultures, travelling to the USA, Canada and Great Britain. In 2008, O'Brien was featured in the Australian Biography series.

Publications

O'Brien's papers are held at the State Library of Western Australia in a collection titled: Aborigines of the west: their past and their present, and a May O'Brien Special Collection on Aboriginal studies is