About

Every month we will upload two films into the website until they are all online.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are warned that there are images of Deceased persons in these films.

Director’s Statement by Larissa Behrendt

Professor John Maynard is one of our leading historians. His work has been groundbreaking and has shaped the way we understand a broad range of subjects from sport to political activism. He is also a passionate, engaging storyteller. Pauline and I were keen to capture some of the great stories that John has shared with us. Pauline’s set design and producing have facilitated this project that brings to life the men and women that John talks about. Against this backdrop, these vignettes are just a slice of the many stories about the great characters in the hidden histories that John has helped us rediscover.

Our first film we did together was on John’s grandfather “Fred Maynard, Aboriginal Patriot”, looking at the commencement of the Aboriginal Progressive Association Australia’s work and the community of men and women who are forgotten about in the history of the Aboriginal movement. The half hour film, spawned the wish to do further documentaries like this, knowing the plethora of people and knowledge that John holds and engages with in word and through unearthing the history of our people and the struggle.

This series shows some of the icons that John grew up around and why gives you a glimpse into why he is such a passsionate historian. It has been our pleasure to begin to weave stories through history and allow those people both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal that have been hidden in from our history and bring a light out, to help us to understand where we have come from.

We have included the Documentary on Fred Maynard below, as it was the beginning of the passion of the people for this series.

Fred Maynard, Aboriginal Patriot.

BIOS

Presenter – Emeritus Professor John Maynard

Emeritus Professor John Maynard is a Worimi Aboriginal man from the Port Stephens region of New South Wales. He has held several major positions and served on numerous prominent organizations and committees including, Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and the Executive Committee of the Australian Historical Association. He was the recipient of the Aboriginal History (Australian National University) Stanner Fellowship 1996, the New South Wales Premiers Indigenous History Fellow 2003, Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow 2004, University of Newcastle Researcher of the Year 2008 and 2012. In 2014 he was elected a member of the prestigious Australian Social Sciences Academy. He gained his PhD in 2003, examining the rise of early Aboriginal political activism. He has worked with and within many Aboriginal communities, urban, rural and remote. Professor Maynard’s publications have concentrated on the intersections of Aboriginal political and social history, and the history of Australian race relations. He is the author of several books, including Aboriginal Stars of the Turf, Fight for Liberty and Freedom, The Aboriginal Soccer Tribe, Aborigines and the Sport of Kings, True Light and Shadeand Living with the Locals.

Director – Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt is a Eualeyai/Gamillaroi woman. She is the Associate Dean (Indigenous Research) at the University of Technology Sydney and the Director of Research at the Jumbunna Institute. She is a lawyer and an award-winning writer and filmmaker.

Producer – Associate Professor Pauline Clague

Pauline Clague is Associate Professor, Manager of Cultural Resilience Hub, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research at the UTS. She has been a driving force in the creation and sustainability of the Indigenous voice in Australian screen and television. A Yaegl woman from North Coast NSW she has worked as a storyteller and producer in film and TV for 25 years. She was awarded the Stanley Hawes Award in 2015 for her contribution to Australian documentaries and is the 2020 Natalie Miller Fellow.

Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research (JIIER)

The Cultural Resilience Hub is a part of the Research arm of JIIER. It consists of a small team led by Assoc Professor Pauline Clague, a Producer, Storyteller and Lecturer.

We are committed to practical innovation and to the development of impact-driven research that benefits industry and the broader Indigenous community, helping shape the world we live in.

Jumbunna Research – Strengthening Indigenous Communities aims to produce the highest quality research on Indigenous legal and policy issues and to develop highly skilled Indigenous researchers.

Our Vision is to promote, support and embody the exercise and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sovereignty and Self-Determination.