2014 Naidoc Awards: Gracelyn Smallwood among those honoured
Gracelyn Smallwood was named person of the year. The midwife and human rights activist grew up in Townsville, the north Queensland town where, in 1967, nine out of 10 people voted against removing discriminatory provisions from the constitution.
It was the same town where she founded the Aboriginal and Islanders’ Health Service in 1974, the beginning of a career promoting indigenous health that would culminate in an invitation from Nelson Mandela in 1997 to tour South Africa giving lectures on HIV-Aids.
Smallwood won an Order of Australia medal in 1992 for raising awareness of HIV-Aids among Indigenous people, which included the creation of the characters Condoman and Lubelicious to promote safe sex.
Condoman and Lubelicious Mission to Save Queensland:
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