Australian Dictionary of Biography

Who Am I? 🕵️‍♀️

📷 The State Library of New South Wales

The June newsletter of the National Centre of Biography - home of the ADB - is out now. Grab yourself a cuppa and have a read via the website ☕

https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/ncb/publications/national-centre-biography-news-june-2026

📸 National Museum of Australia

Born on this day: Margaret Graham, kindergarten teacher & broadcaster

To learn all about this remarkable woman, visit her entry on the ADB website:

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/graham-margaret-10339

📷 State Library of Western Australia + ABC Australia

Readers of the ADB may have noticed that our website has been having some issues these past few days. We are doing all that we can to make sure the almost 14,000 life stories captured in the ADB are available for you to read at any time. Please bear with us!

📷 Australian War Memorial

Who Am I?

📷 National Library of Australia

Warning: this post contains images of First Nations people who have died.

'The Yirrkala Bark Petitions were the first petition ever received by the Australian Federal parliament in an Australian language, and also the first to lead directly to a parliamentary inquiry ...

They created a pan-Yolngu identity and galvanised the Aboriginal civil and land rights movement. They also led to the passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the first legislation that enabled First Nations people to claim ownership of their land.'

Read all about this significant moment in the essay written by Clare Wright for The Quest for Indigenous Recognition project: https://adb.anu.edu.au/the-quest-for-indigenous-recognition/the-yirrkala-bark-petitions

And read more in her award-winning book Ṉäku Dhäruk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy, published by Text Publishing

📷 National Museum of Australia

La Trobe University

Warning: This post contains images of First Nations people who have died.

To learn more about the Redfern Park speech, visit The Quest for Indigenous Recognition project on the ADB website.

https://adb.anu.edu.au/the-quest-for-indigenous-recognition/the-redfern-park-speech

📷 John Paoloni

Reconciliation Australia

Today marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week.

To mark the occasion we are sharing stories from The Quest for Indigenous Recognition Project, which was launched by The Hon Linda Burney in 2023.

First up is an excerpt from Megan Davis's powerful essay on the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart:

'The Uluṟu Statement is a beginning. It is about recognition, and it is about renewal. It is a hand of friendship extended to the Australian people, an invitation to come and meet with us. In issuing the statement to all Australians, the First Nations hope to bypass the ritual cynicism of Australian retail politics and ask Australians of all religions, cultures and political persuasions to read the Uluṟu Statement and hear, in our own words, the logic for change'

https://adb.anu.edu.au/the-quest-for-indigenous-recognition/uluru-statement

📷 The Uluru Statement from the Heart + UNSW


Reconciliation Australia

Born on this day in 1888: Una Fielding, neuroanatomist 🧠

The eldest of five children, Una won a scholarship to the University of Sydney where she studied for a Bachelor of Arts.

After working as a governess and teacher, she returned to university to study science and medicine. In July 1923 she went to England and began demonstrating at University College London's anatomy department. After stints in Michigan and Lebanon she lectured at UCL and published research papers, although her hopes of writing a major book was stymied by heavy teaching loads, especially during WW2.

Want to know more about her? Read her story in the ADB 👇

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fielding-una-lucy-10178

📷 Museums of History NSW