18th annual Deadly Awards - a night of recognition, celebration and achievement

The 2012 Deadly Awards held at the Sydney Opera House honoured Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in the fields of art, music, sport and a range of community endeavours.

 Sponsored by the Australian Government Closing the Gap initiative, the 18^th annual awards were an evening of recognition, celebration and of achievements.

 Community awards were a focus at the Deadly’s this year, acknowledging the invaluable efforts of those working in health, education, employment and cultural advancement.

 In the Health category the Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health went to the Boodjari Yorgas Family Care Program from Perth.

 Boodjari Yorgas strives to improve the quality of pregnancy care for Aboriginal families using local maternity services. It was established as an Antenatal Clinic in 2007, and more recently expanded to include a Family Care Program.

 A WA ante-natal clinic, which delivers assistance to mothers and babies from a cultural perspective, and manages a range of innovative anti-smoking programs in Queensland were also among the winners in the Health category.

 The Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education went to the Napranum Parents and Learning Group (PAL).

 The Napranum Parents and Learning (PAL) Group supports and empowers parents and family members to engage with their children’s learning and assists with the development of their children’s early literacy and numeracy skills.

  "The Deadly Awards have a strong focus on the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the education award winners are all out there working at the grass root level in their communities," Executive Producer of the Deadlys Gavin Jones said.

 The Deadly’s Hall of Fame Awards delivered excitement as the late rugby league legend Arthur (Artie) Beetson was awarded the Ella Award for a lifetime achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sport.

 The inaugural Marcia Langton Award for a lifetime achievement in Leadership went to Yarrabah and Palm Island Activist Percy Neal while the Lifetime Contribution Award for Healing and The Stolen Generation went to Marumali Healing founder, Aunty Lorraine Darcy Peeters.

 The original Sapphires, Beverly Briggs, Naomi Mayers, Lois Peeler, Laurel Robinson and Tony Brigg were honoured through the Jimmy Little Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music.

 Deadly award winners were also recognised in the categories of music, sport and the arts.

 In the music category, popular Singer Jessica Mauboy took out music single of the year (Galaxy) and Female Artist of the Year, while musician and singer Gurrumul Yunupingu took home the award for Male Artist of the Year.

 In the Arts category, Male Actor of the Year went to Jimi Bani for his performance in the popular film, Mabo, and in the sports category, Boxer Damien Duncan Hooper took home the Most Promising New Talent Award.