Tommy George, Australian Aboriginal elder, Died at 94

  Reseacher

Tommy George Sr. was born in 1922, and died on July 29, 2016.

He was an elder of the Kuku Thaypan clan on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.

Tommy George was an Agu Alaya speaker.

He was born in his own country, near Lakefield National Park.

When he was a child, Tommy and his elder brother, George Musgrave, were hidden in mailbags by the station owner, Fredrick Sheppard, to avoid removal by police and welfare officers.

Because of this, they were able to grow up with their own people, and learn traditional law and language, management practices of their country and how to live off the land.

And more currently, they were able to successfully claim continuous ownership of traditional lands, and retain custody of some land at Gno-Coom (Saxby Waterhole).

And then together they founded the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation at Laura, Queensland, the biennial Laura Festival of Traditional Dance and Culture, the Traditional Knowledge Recording Project and the Cape York Land Council.

Then, they campaigned to protect the world-renowned Quinkan rock art near Laura, where they carried out custodial duties for special places, including the rock art galleries.

During 2005, Tommy was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by James Cook University for his ecological expertise along with his elder brother Dr. George Musgrave.

He died in the Cooktown, Queensland.

Tommy George passed away 94 years old.