Top 6 Famous Aboriginal People you should know

The land down under, Australia has a rich history filled with culture. These cultures have been around for over 60000 years making them one of the oldest living cultures on the planet. There has been news of journalists lacking interest in reporting about aboriginal achievers. Here’s 10 of the best and most famous Aboriginal people in this rich history.

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1.Neville Bonner (#1)

Born in March 22, 1982 in Tweed Heads Australia, Neville Thomas Bonner became the first with indigenous roots to become a minister of parliament in Australia.

During his lifetime he wrote inspirational books such as “Equal World”, “Equal Share” and “East Timer”.

After leaving the Australian senate in 1983, he continued to fight for indigenous rights until his death in 1999. Neville Bonner comes in #1 in our list on most famous Aboriginal people.

2.Cathy Freeman (#2 famous aboriginal sport stars)

Cathy is one of the most popular Aboriginal Australians. Known for her amazing skills on the track, she became the first ever Aboriginal to win an Olympic gold medal for the 400m individual sprint. She did so at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she ironically lit the Olympic flame.

WATCH : Cathy Freeman winning GOLD in Sydney here

She was also the first person with indigenous roots to win a commonwealth games gold medal at the age of 16 in 1990.

Cathy went on to receive the order of Merit award which was the Australian Olympic committee’s highest honor

3. David Unaipon (#3 Famous Aboriginal people)

Known as the “Australian Da Vinci” was a preacher, inventor and writer. Among many of his patents were a helicopter design based on the principles of the boomerang.

He features ever so famously in the Australian 50 dollar bill along with drawings                from one of his first inventions. He was also known as the first aboriginal author for writing his book “Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines”.

4. Samantha Harris

Samantha Harris stepped into the limelight when she won the “Girlfriend Cover girl” competition at age 11. She quickly became one of the nation’s top models. The 30 year old is a role model to all aboriginal youngsters and she works with organizations such as the National center of Indigenous Excellence.

5. Archie Roach

Archie is a beloved respected Australian Singer/Songwriter. He captured the nations’ hearts in 1990 when he dropped his debut album “Charcoal Lane” with the iconic single “Took the children away”.

He partnered up with Ruby Hunter in the later 1980’s to form a band named Altogethers with several other aboriginal artists.

In 2010 Ruby passed away shattering Archie who was later diagnosed with lung cancer and had to go into rehabilitation.

Archie had changed his taste in music since then making more uplifting songs about overcoming the past.

6. Bronwyn Bancroft

Bronwyn is an Artist who is amongst the first ever to showcase their designs in a show in Paris. Trained in Canberra and Sydney she is also an fashion designer, illustrator and Arts administrator.

In 1985 she established a shop called Designer Aboriginals which sold fabrics made by aboriginal designers including her own. She also co-founded the Boomali Aboriginal Artists Co-operative.

Bancroft went on to serve as a board member of the National Gallery of Australia and her painting on prevention of AIDS has been commonly used in AIDS awareness campaigns around Australia.