AustLit

Arthur Malcolm was consecrated as a Bishop into the Anglican Church in 1985; he was the first Indigenous Bishop in Australia.

Malcolm's mother was a Ganyju woman came from the Laura area and his father was from Kowanyama (Mitchell River). When removed Malcolm from his family to send to a mission, his mother followed him to Yarrabah, where Malcolm spent his childhood the mission. At the Yarrabah mission Malcolm was forbidden to speak his Indigenous language. Later in life, Malcolm became supportive of Indigenous languages being taught in schools in the Yarrabah region as a way of regaining what was lost.