AustLit
Dulcie Isaro is a well-respected Elder, storyteller and social activist. For many years Isaro has been involved in Indigenous affairs and assisting her people, particularly in northern Queensland. She is the daughter of Willie Thaiday, a much-loved and respected Torres Strait Islander man. Isaro has been prominent in highlighting failed government assimilation policies on Palm Island and continues to fight for the well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She is also a long-standing member of Community Justice Groups (Townsville area). Isaro entered the convent of the Order of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Bowral, New South Wales, in 1961, and with the Order trained as a teacher in Sydney and taught at Catholic schools in Papua New Guinea from 1965 to 1972.
Isaro's play, Strike of 57, draws upon experiences of her childhood when her father, Willie Thaiday, and six other men were arrested for striking over poor conditions. The men and their families were ejected from Palm Island, and Isaro, her parents and nine siblings spent a week in a jail cell before being sent to Woorabinda, near Rockhampton.
In June 2012, The Day Palm Island Fought Back : The Strike of 1957 [written and illustrated by Dulcie Polowea Isaro] (2012) was launched.
Benny Mabo was uncle to Eddie Mabo.
Ricardo Idagi is a Storyteller, multidisciplinary artist and musician who grew up with his extended family on Mer (Murray Island). In 2009, Ricardo Idagi was the winner of the Western Australian Indigenous Art Award and in 2011 he was awarded the Telstra New Media Award or his artwork called Upi Mop Le, or The Tail End Man.
