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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

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Ipswich’s Aunty Faye Carr named 2017 National NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year

Culture and Capability
Indigenous male stands next to an older Indigenous woman on red carpet, the woman is holding large blue plate.

Yuggera Elder Aunty Faye Carr from Ipswich, Queensland has been named the 2017 National NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year for her long contribution to her community.

Aunty Faye Carr, a Yuggera Elder from Ipswich in Queensland, has been working hard to help her local community for over fifty years and after being named Ipswich Citizen of the Year in 2016, Aunty Faye has been honoured as the 2017 National NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year.

Aunty Faye started her advocacy career when she was young, working to better the lives of the Ipswich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

She has been involved in the creation and running of a range of community organisations, including the Brisbane Aboriginal Legal Service, now known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) Ltd (ATSILS), which provides legal services throughout Queensland; the Kambu Progress Association that  delivers housing and sporting services to the Ipswich community and the Kambu Aboriginal and Islander Health Service, which delivers a range of primary health services in Ipswich and the surrounding area.

Such has been Aunty Faye’s contribution to Ipswich that when the town awarded her its Citizen of the Year, they recognised her contribution to the entire community.

In naming Aunty Faye the Female Elder of the Year, the NAIDOC committee recognised that she is a strong, wise Elder, advocate and leader in her community and that she exemplifies the values important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Aunty Faye has no plans to slow down; she recently met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to campaign on behalf of women and raising awareness about the impacts of domestic violence on women and families.

Find out more

Visit the National NAIDOC website or Facebook page for more details about the event and award winners.