Lewis O'Brien (Kaurna Elder)

Early life

Lewis Yerloburka O'Brien was born at Point Pearce Mission on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia in 1930. His great, great grandmother was Kudnarto, who relocated from the northern parts of Kaurna country, near Clare in the nineteenth century due to dispossession of land holdings. Uncle Lewis was ill as a child and became a ward of the state at age 12. Until the age of 18, he lived in a number of foster homes and boys' homes. He studied at Point Pearce, Ethelton Primary School and Payneham Primary School. He gained his Intermediate Certificate of education in 1946 from Le Fevre Boys Technical High School at Glanville, South Australia, overcoming extreme difficulties to do so, and gained an apprenticeship as a fitter and machinist with the South Australian Railways, completing in 1952.

Community work

In the 1960s, Uncle Lewis became involved with the Aboriginal Advancement League. In 1977, Uncle Lewis began working in schools, promoting Kaurna language and culture as well as supporting Indigenous students to complete education as a Liaison Officer for South Australian Education Department. He served as Adjunct Research Fellow, David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research, University of South Australia and as a Visiting Elder at Flinders University.

In 2007, Uncle Lewis published his memoir And the Clock struck Thirteen: the life and thoughts of Kaurna Elder Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O'Brien as told to Mary-Anne Gale, published by Wakefield Press.

Awards and Honours

Uncle Lewis was named NAIDOC Elder of the Year in 1997 and Citizen of Humanity Awarded by the National Committee of Human Rights in 2009.