Sally Morgan
Born
Sally Jane Milroy

1951 (age 72–73)
Perth, Western Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Author, dramatist and artist
Known forMy Place
Children3 including Ambelin Kwaymullina

Sally Jane Morgan (née Milroy; born 1951) is an Australian Aboriginal author, dramatist, and artist. Her works are on display in numerous private and public collections in Australia and around the world.[1]

Early life, education, and personal life

Morgan was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1951 as the eldest of five children.[2] She was raised by her mother Gladys and her maternal grandmother Daisy. Her mother, a member of the Bailgu people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, grew up in the Parkerville Children's Home as part of the Stolen Generations.[3][4] Her father, William, a plumber by trade, died after a long-term battle with post-war experience post-traumatic stress disorder.[2][5][6] Of her siblings, Jill Milroy is an academic,[3][7] Helen Milroy is a child psychiatrist who was the first indigenous Australian to become a medical doctor,[1][8] David is a playwright,[1][9] and William has worked as a senior public servant.[1][10]

As a child, Morgan became aware that she was different from other children at her school because of her non-white physical appearance, and was frequently questioned by other students about her family background. Her mother never told her that she was Aboriginal, saying instead that she was of Indian-Bangladeshi descent. She understood from her mother that her ancestors were from the Indian sub-continent.[11] But, when she was 15, she learned that she and her siblings were actually of Aboriginal descent.[12]

After finishing school, she worked as a clerk in a government department, had a period of unemployment, then obtained a job as a laboratory assistant.[2] she then attended the University of Western Australia, graduating in 1974 with a B.A. in Psychology; she followed up with post-graduate diplomas from the Western Australian Institute of Technology in Counselling Psychology, Computing, and Library Studies.[5]

She married Paul Morgan, a teacher she had met at university, in 1972; the marriage later ended in divorce. They have three children, Ambelin, Blaze, and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, all of whom have co-authored works with Morgan.[1][5]

Author

The story of her discovery of her family's past is told in the 1987 multiple biographies My Place, which sold over half a million copies in Australia. It has also been published in Europe, Asia and the United States. It told a story that many people didn't know; of children taken from their mothers, slavery, abuse and fear because their skin was a different colour.[4]

Sally Morgan's second book, Wanamurraganya, was a biography of her grandfather. She has also collaborated with artist and illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft on children's books, including Dan's Grandpa (1996).[13]

Morgan is the director at the Centre for Indigenous History and the Arts at the University of Western Australia. She has received several awards: My Place won the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission humanitarian award in 1987, the Western Australia Week literary award for non-fiction in 1988, and the 1990 Order of Australia Book Prize. In 1993, international art historians selected Morgan's print Outback, as one of 30 paintings and sculptures for reproduction on a stamp, celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Awards

In 2023 The West Australian newspaper identified the 100 people who had shaped the state of Western Australia and they included senator Jo Vallentine, politician and businessperson Carmen Lawrence, health activist Fiona Stanley, politician Bessie Rischbieth, Dr Roberta Jull, women's leader Amy Jane Best and Morgan.[21]

Bibliography

Biography

  • Sally's story (Narkaling productions, 1995) edited by Barbara Ker Wilson
  • My Place (Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press. 1999 – first published 1987) ISBN 1-86368-278-3
  • Wanamurraganya, the story of Jack McPhee (Narkaling Productions, 1990)
  • Mother and daughter: The story of Daisy and Gladys Corunna (Narkaling Productions, 1994) Edited by Barbara Ker Wilson
  • Arthur Corunna's story (Narkaling Productions, 1995) edited by Barbara Ker Wilson

Children's books

  • Little piggies (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1991) with Paul Morgan
  • The flying emu and other Australian stories (Viking, 1992)
  • Hurry up, Oscar! (Puffin Books, 1994) illustrated by Bettina Guthridge
  • Pet problem (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1994)
  • Dan's grandpa (Sandcastle, 1996) illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft
  • In your dreams (Sandcastle Books, 1997) illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft
  • Just a little brown dog (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1997) illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft
  • "Where is Galah" (Little Hare Books, 2015)
  • Little Bird's Day (Magabala Books, 2019) illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr
  • The River (Magabala Books, 2021) illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr

Plays

  • Cruel wild woman and David Milroy (Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre, 1999) performed in the 1999 Festival of Perth season.

Edited

  • Gnyung Waart Kooling Kulark (released as Going Home) (Centre for Indigenous History & the Arts, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, 2003) co-edited with Jill Milroy and Tjalaminu Mia.
  • Echoes of the past : Sister Kate's home revisited (Centre for Indigenous History and the Arts 2002) with Tjalaminu Mia, photography by Victor France

Art collections

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Laurie, Victoria (23 October 1999). "An Interview with Sally Morgan". Fremantle Arts Centre Press. Archived from the original on 15 December 2004.
  2. 1 2 3 "Biography – Sally Morgan". Indigenous Australia. Australian National University. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Gladys Milroy: author of Dingo's Tree". AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Sally Morgan (1951–)". ABC. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Sally Morgan: author of My Place". AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Sally Morgan – Aboriginal Artist and Writer". Aboriginal Art Online. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Jill Milroy: illustrator of Dingo's Tree". AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (2009), Journeys into Medicine, AIDA: Sydney. P. 4. ISBN 978 0 646 52119 0.
  9. ↑ "David Milroy". AustralianPlays. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "About us". Nuntirrpa. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019.
  11. ↑ "Sally Morgan :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Professor Sally Morgan: the importance of stories". Arts Law Centre of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Books: Dan's Grandpa". Fremantle Press. Archived from the original on 17 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  14. ↑ "1987 Human Rights Medal and Awards". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "1989 Human Rights Medal and Awards". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award to an Aboriginal Writer". AustLit. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Authors : Sally Morgan". Fremantle Press. 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Print Matters 30 Years of the Shell Fremantle Print Award"' Holly Story ..et al 2005 FAC ISBN 0-9757307-1-1
  19. ↑ "Feels Like Silk – screenprints from the City of Fremantle Art Collection" (PDF). Fremantle.wa.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  20. ↑ "Environment Award for Children's Literature, Karajia Award 2022 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  21. ↑ Ceglie, Anthony De. "The 100 people who shaped our State". 190years.thewest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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