Brunswick indigenous rights campaigner Victoria’s best volunteer

A PROUD indigenous woman with deep roots in Moreland has been named the state’s Volunteer of the Year and her work is far from over.

FIGHTING for improved representations of indigenous culture and reconciliation will continue for Victoria’s best volunteer.

Dr Sue Atkinson Lopez was named the Premier’s Volunteer of the Year on September 9, and was handed the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Trophy. Alongside her trophy, she chose education provider FKA Children’s Services to receive a $10,000 donation.

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The Brunswick resident said she has sat on “about ten or 11 committees”, including Moreland Council’s Reconciliation Working Group and Human Rights Advisory Committee.

She said indigenous history, particularly from Victoria, should be included in early childhood learning.

“It has to be taught in a respectful fashion and an authentic fashion, all we learnt about when I was a kid were stereotypes that were quite racist,” she said. “People have moved beyond that but we still have a lot of work to do about representing our culture in Victoria.”

Mayor John Kavanagh said Moreland was lucky to have her passion and skills.

“She leads by her active participation and taking leadership on issues,” he said.

A Yorta Yorta woman, Dr Atkinson Lopez said takes inspiration from her elders, who have kept their culture alive.

Her family has been a constant in Moreland since her grandfather built a family home in Coburg in 1929.

“The fourth generation of the family is living in that house now,” she said. “It’s a friendly house, even it is crumbling around us a little.”

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