Lewis Yerloburka O’brien
His Era
Lewis Yerloburka O’brien was born at Point Pearce Mission in South Australia (SA) in
- His great grandmother was called Kudnarto. They had relocated to northern parts of
Kaurna County due to Land dispossession (O’Brien 2007). Despite of his challenging life,
Uncle Lewis attended Ethelton Primary School and technical school. He suffered from
jaundice until he was ten.
He grew up during the era of stolen generation. His mother was constantly having threats that
her child will be taken away from her. O’brien father was Irish and so had a privilege to live
with high intelligent people (westerners). However, he would hide his aboriginality to avoid
discrimination (Samaras, 2005).
When he enrolled at school, he felt like his parents taught him more skills than those taught in
school. He was born in the County Cork. His value for culture was influenced by Lewis and
May Adams. These two were his super parents who gave him immense Kaurna skills. In
1946, it was rare for an Aboriginal boy to acquire education. Despite the challenges that were
erected by the welfare; O’brien managed to gain intermediate certificate (Lee, 2015).
From a young age, he was interested by the Aboriginal culture (Gifford 2009). He was born
in an era when the culture of being Aboriginal was considered as uncivilized. In fact, to
access equal human rights as the whites required one to apply for ‘cease being aboriginal’
under the Aborigines Act (Dockery, 2010). This was the only way to acquire education. This
was an error that led to destruction of Aboriginal identity as well as culture (O’Brien 2001).
Indigenous Australians 2
The segregation was found in other infrastructures such as hospitals and hotels. The
children were taken from their communities because it was believed that the uncivilized
parents would influence the children. The government then believed that the children were in
danger of adopting the immoral way of life. The main aim of this process was to de-
Aboriginalise the children (Gifford 2009). Despite his fortunate life, he still remained deep
rooted in his culture.
However, Uncle Lewis managed to endure hardships. He became a stronger person,
with his thoughts and philosophies of life built up by his Aboriginal grandparents. These
philosophies sustained him through the challenges he experienced. By listening to his elders,
he remained committed to his culture and his people (Government of South Australia, 2010).
His Acknowledgements and Achievements
Uncle Lewis has been involved in many committees that aimed to promote the
dignity and rights of Aboriginal people. He has published a lot of papers that have brought
the unique culture of Aboriginal people to the limelight. Over the years, he has been involved
in many art projects across the state. He has provided pastoral and cultural guidance for
aboriginal children and families (Pickett, Dudgeon, & Garvey 2000). His love for his culture
is supported by the substantial contribution of the scholarly and art work particularly
activities that promote and maintain the Kaurna culture and language at UniSA (Hooley &
Levinson, 2013). His achievements also include political contributions that range from the
Aboriginal advancement League in 1960s to his old age where he continued to offer
mentorship and counselling to many at Flinders University. Conclusively, O’Brien’s
achievements include
1995 – Telecom Advance Australia Award of Merit (PocheCentre 2011)
1995 – Life Member for Kura Yerlo Council
1997 – NAIDOC Elder of the Year
Indigenous Australians 3
2000 – Port Adelaide Council Awards for Elder of the Year
2003 – “Local Hero” Metropolitan Australia Day Awards (PocheCentre 2011)
2003 – Centenary Medal (2001)
2004 – Fellow of the University of SA
2008 – Harmony run Medal
2009 – Citizen of Humanity Awarded by the National Committee of Human Rights
Indigenous Australians 4
References
Dockery, A. 2010. Culture and Wellbeing: The Case of Indigenous Australians. Soc Indic
Res, 99(2), pp.315-332.
Hooley, N. and Levinson, M. 2013. Investigating networks of culture and knowledge: a
critical discourse between UK Roma Gypsies, Indigenous Australians and education. The
Australian Educational Researcher, 41(2), pp.139-153.
Government of South Australia.2010. Marine Engineer Lewis William Arthus O’brien AO.
Gifford, P. 2009. And the clock struck thirteen: The life and thoughts of Kauna Elder Uncle
Lewis, Yerloburka O’brien. Wakefield. Kent
Lee, E. 2015. Protected Areas, Country and Value: The Nature-Culture Tyranny of the
IUCN’s Protected Area Guidelines for Indigenous Australians. Antipode, 48(2), pp.355-
374.
O’Brien, Lewis. 2001. You could build on this Three Year Technical School Foundation. In:
Jolly, Erica (Ed). A Broader Vision: voices of vocational education in Twentieth-Century
South Australia. Adelaide. Michael Deves Publ. 258-259.
O’Brien, Lewis. 2007. Lewis O’Brien, And the Clock struck thirteen. Adelaide. Wakefield
Press
Samaras, K. 2005. Indigenous Australians and the ‘digital divide’. Libri, 55(2-3).
Pickett, H., Dudgeon, P., & Garvey, D. 2000. Working with indigenous Australians. Perth,
W.A.: Gunada Press, Curtin Indigenous Research Centre, Curtin University of Technology.
PocheCentre. 2011. Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien.