Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll

About the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll

Read about the 20 inaugural inductees to the Honour Roll that were announced on Friday 17 February.

The Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll will serve to formally acknowledge and celebrate the wide-ranging achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians. The inaugural inductees will be publicly announced in mid-February 2012.

On 25 March 2011, Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Ted Baillieu launched a community discussion paper for the establishment of a Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll, a Roll which will recognise the accomplishments of Indigenous Victorians in communities in Victoria, Australia and around the world.

Responses to the discussion paper determined that the Honour Roll will recognise Indigenous Victorians (currently living or who have lived in Victoria) who:

• have had a significant influence that has instigated change for the betterment of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in a particular field, or,
• have made lasting contributions that have benefitted the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community across Victoria, Australia or internationally.

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Jeanette Powell said, “The establishment of the Indigenous Honour Roll is an example of Victoria leading the way in Aboriginal Affairs.

“The annual Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll, the first of its kind in Australia, is set to be a permanent record of Indigenous Victorians’ contributions and achievements.”

Through the establishment of the Honour Roll all people have the opportunity to learn about the contributions and  achievements of both historical and contemporary Indigenous Victorians in the areas of community leadership, human and social rights, activism, sports, music and more. While some individuals may be more widely known than others, all share an equal place of honour on this Roll.

With annual additions, the Honour Roll will evolve to more comprehensively include the many Indigenous Victorians, who have made, and continue to make, lasting contributions to the Indigenous and broader community.

This formal and ongoing acknowledgement of the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians is a significant step in the reconciliation process. Reconciliation aims to improve the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by raising awareness of the importance of Indigenous people’s history, culture and the significant contributions Indigenous Australians make to society.

Nominations

Nominations for the inaugural Honour Roll opened in late May 2011. When the submission process closed in September, 44 written nominations had been received.

Honour Roll Advisory Panel

Nominations were also sought from Indigenous people to participate on an Honour Roll Advisory Panel – to provide recommendations to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the first inductees to the Honour Roll.  The panel was established in September 2011.

The firstAdvisory Panel was comprised of Indigenous Victorians with varying backgrounds and a comprehensive understanding of Indigenous history and culture.

Inductees to the inaugural Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll

 After due consideration the Advisory Panel recommended 20 Indigenous Victorians for induction to the first ever Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll.

At a special event to be held on 17 February 2012, the names of the first Indigenous Victorians to be inducted to the Honour Roll will be announced and the contributions of these individuals – past and present - will be celebrated in Melbourne.

For more information about the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll please contact Geoff Gook on (03) 9208 3260 or at geoff.gook@dpcd.vic.gov.au