Mandawuy Yunupingu was born on 17 September 1956 near the remote north-east Arnhem Land community of Yirrkala, 600 kilometres east of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. Mandawuy/s surname, Yunupingu, means "rock that will stand against anything".
Originally known as Bakamana, he took the name Mandawuy (meaning "clay") in 1989 following...
David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu (born 1 July 1953) is a Yolngu man of the Mandhalpuyngu language group. In 1969, David's extraordinary skill as a tribal dancer caught the attention of British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who had come to Maningrida scouting locations for a forthcoming film. Nicolas promptly cast the sixteen...
Emily Kame Kngwarreye (or Emily Kam Ngwarray) (1910 - 3 September 1996) was a female Australian Aboriginal artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory and was one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of contemporary Indigenous Australian art. Kngwarreye lived in the Anmatyerre language...
Bob Brown was elected to the Senate in 1996, after 10 years as an MHA in Tasmania's state parliament.In his first speech in the Senate, Bob raised the threat posed by climate change. Government and opposition members laughed at his warning of sea level rises and it has taken...
McDonald was born in Bondi, Sydney and was educated at Cranbrook School. During his time at Cranbrook, McDonald developed an interest in acting and despite family objections, went on to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Early in his career, he met his wife, the actress Diane...
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett was born in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe. Her mother June, was an Australian property developer and teacher, and her father, Robert DeWitt Blanchett, Jr., was from Texas and a US Navy Petty Officer who later worked as an advertising executive. The two met while Blanchett's...
Born in Sydney in 1939, Whiteley grew up in Longueville, NSW and by the age of seven had won his first art competition. He was sent to boarding school at Scots College, Bathurst and in 1956 was awarded first prize in the Young Painters' section of the Bathurst Show....
Ruth Cracknell is one of Australia’s finest actors. From her performances as the much loved Maggie in "Mother and Son" to classic and contemporary drama, Ruth has brought a strength and style which has made her a role model for others.
Ruth was born in 1925 in the New South...
Peter Cundall was born into an impoverished home, "the poorest of the poor", in Manchester on 1 April 1927, as the second of six children. Two of his brothers died when he was young. His father was an alcoholic and battered his mother. This put Peter off alcohol forever....
