A tribute to activism

May 2005

The late Monash academic Lorna Lippmann was committed to improving the plight of Indigenous Australians.

Report: Ingrid Sanders
Photography: Sharon Walker

Inaugural winner: Mr Nicholas Morris with senior deputy vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Parker.

Lorna Lippmann believed that if ordinary Australians didn't understand the issues confronting Indigenous Australians, conditions for these most disadvantaged of people would never improve.

When Mrs Lippmann joined Monash in the late 1960s, it was to study postgraduate anthropology and sociology. The following year, she joined the now Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies as a research officer.

For decades, Mrs Lippmann immersed herself in educating Monash students and the wider community about the importance of Indigenous issues to all Australians.

And despite her death last year at 82, her efforts will continue with Mrs Lippmann's daughters, Davina and Lenora, and colleagues setting up the Lorna Lippmann scholarship. The annual scholarship, awarded for the first time this year, contributes to the further education of promising Indigenous students at Monash University.

The director of the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, Professor Lynette Russell, said Mrs Lippmann would be warmly remembered for her tireless promotion of Indigenous affairs.

"This is a very important scholarship that will help support and empower Indigenous undergraduates," Professor Russell said. "We are talking about some of the most disadvantaged students and this will help them enormously."

The inaugural Lorna Lippmann Memorial Scholarship was awarded to final-year Bachelor of Arts student Mr Nicholas Morris.

Mr Morris, who has two jobs to help him "get by", said he was grateful to the Lippmann family for believing in him.

"This scholarship has given me a real confidence boost," he said. "I can't wait to finish my studies and get out into the communities so I can make a difference to real people."

Professor Russell said Mr Morris was an excellent example of an Indigenous student achieving great things.

"I can't imagine a more deserving student," she said. "In years to come, we hope many more students will benefit from this scholarship."

Out of the blue: Mr Nicholas Morris is reaping the rewards of Lorna Lippmann's generosity.

Ms Davina Lippmann said the scholarship was a fitting tribute to her mother. "Mum always said she would like us to donate to an Indigenous project, but she was mindful not to specify where the money should go," she said. "It was Lynette Russell who suggested the possibility of this memorial to my mother's commitment."

"The scholarship fulfills her wish, and it is fitting that the bursary is administered from the place where she launched her influential career."

After joining the university, Mrs Lippmann went on to lecture on Indigenous affairs in several faculties. She was one of the best known and most controversial activists for Indigenous affairs of the 1960s, and her activism continued into the 1990s.

Ms Lippmann said her mother was well aware that for cultural change to occur, political change was needed.

She became involved in state and federal politics and was an adviser to Aboriginal affairs minister Gordon Bryant during the Whitlam era.

During her career, Mrs Lippmann published four books, including Generations of Resistance: Mabo and Justice, which continues to be a tertiary textbook.

"Her view was that people needed to know the living circumstances of Australia's Indigenous communities, for nothing would change if people weren't informed," Ms Lippmann said.

ACTION: Contact the director of the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, Professor Lynette Russell, on +61 3 9905 4200, or email lynette.russell@arts.monash.edu.au

For information on giving to Monash, go to the Appeals website.