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Life Summary

Name	Lowitja O'Donoghue
Alternative Names	Lois O'Donoghue
Born	c. 1 August, 1932 Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia, Australia
Died	4 February, 2024 (aged 91) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Cultural Heritage	Yankunytjatjara Pitjantjatjara Irish Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Related Entries	[View as tree] Perkins, Charles Nelson (acquaintance)
Education *	Quorn Primary School (student) Unley Technical High School (student, 1944-1947) South Coast District Hospital (Victor Harbour, SA) (student nurse, 1950-1952) Royal Adelaide Hospital (student nurse, 1952-1958)
Occupation or Descriptor *	domestic servant (1948-1949) South Australia, Australia Indigenous rights activist/supporter (1948-2024) South Australia, Australia nurse (general) (1950-1970) South Australia, Australia Indigenous leader (1965-2024) South Australia, Australia welfare worker (1967-1974) South Australia, Australia public servant (1970-2000) Federal, Australia
Awards	Member of the Order of Australia (recipient, 1976) Australian of the Year (recipient, 1984) National Living Treasure (Australia) (recipient, 1998) Companion of the Order of Australia (recipient, 1999) Olympic Order (silver) (recipient, 2000) Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great (Vatican) (recipient, 2005) Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great (Vatican) (recipient, 2006)
Key Events *	Olympic Games (Sydney, 2000) (participant) referendum on Indigenous rights (1967) (participant, 1967)
Legacies *	Lowitja Institute (eponym, 2010)
Key Organisations *	Aboriginal Development Commission (member) National Aboriginal Conference (member) National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (member) Colebrook Children's Home (SA) (resident, 1932-1948) Aborigines Advancement League (SA) (member, 1950) Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia (co-founder, 1965) Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (SA) (member, 1970-1972) National Aboriginal Conference (founding chair, 1977) Aboriginal Hostels Ltd (chairperson, 1981-1990) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Commission (chair, 1990) Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (member, 1991-1996) Republic Advisory Committee (member, 1993) Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health (chair, 1996) Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund (director, 1996-2005)
Social Issues *	stolen child (victim, 1932)
Workplaces *	South Coast District Hospital (Victor Harbour, SA) (nurse, 1950-1952) Royal Adelaide Hospital (nurse, 1952-?) Australian Baptist Mission (Assam, India) (nurse, 1962-1963) Repatriation General Hospital (Adelaide) (nurse, 1963) Dept of Aboriginal Affairs (SA) (employee, 1967) Dept of Aboriginal Affairs (federal) (employee, 1973-1974)

* Dates are approximate