Rob Riley
Encyclopedia
Robert Riley was an Aboriginal
activist advancing Indigenous issues in Australia.
Soon after his birth, he was removed from his family and placed in state care at Sister Kate's
in Queens Park, Western Australia
. He was almost ten years old before he knew his mother was alive and was reunited with his family when he was 12. He wrote a publication whilst he was the CEO of the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service Inc telling of his experience of forced removal (known as the Stolen Generations. Telling Our Story was described as "the most comprehensive description of the experience of Aboriginal people removed from their families undertaken in Western Australia".
Riley was Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Council and part of the negotiating team on the Native Title Act.
On the national political stage, Mr Riley was senior advisor to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, as well as Head of the Aboriginal Issues Unit of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
.
He established the Perth Aboriginal Medical Service
, the Aboriginal Child Care Agency, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University and the Western Australia Aboriginal Media Association. He was awarded the Human Rights Medal
in 1996.
In 1995, Riley announced in two speeches that a trio of older boys had sexually abused him during his time at Sister Kate's. On 1 May 1996, Riley committed suicide in Perth at the Bentley Motor Lodge. In the days leading to his death, he was unemployed and was charged with major motor infractions.
In 2004, the Centre of Aboriginal Studies established the Rob Riley Memorial Lectures in his honour
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
activist advancing Indigenous issues in Australia.
Soon after his birth, he was removed from his family and placed in state care at Sister Kate's
Katherine Mary Clutterbuck
Katherine Mary Clutterbuck, MBE , usually known as Sister Kate, was an Anglican nun who pioneered a cottage home system for looking after orphan babies and children in Western Australia...
in Queens Park, Western Australia
Queens Park, Western Australia
Queens Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Canning. Its postcode is 6107.-History:The suburb derives its name from the former Queens Park Road Board that was incorporated into the Canning and Belmont Road Boards....
. He was almost ten years old before he knew his mother was alive and was reunited with his family when he was 12. He wrote a publication whilst he was the CEO of the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service Inc telling of his experience of forced removal (known as the Stolen Generations. Telling Our Story was described as "the most comprehensive description of the experience of Aboriginal people removed from their families undertaken in Western Australia".
Riley was Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Council and part of the negotiating team on the Native Title Act.
On the national political stage, Mr Riley was senior advisor to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, as well as Head of the Aboriginal Issues Unit of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody studied and reported on the high level of deaths of Aboriginal people whilst in custody after being arrested or convicted of committing crimes. This included suicide, natural causes, medical conditions and injuries caused by police...
.
He established the Perth Aboriginal Medical Service
Aboriginal Medical Service
The Aboriginal Medical Service was established in Redfern from 1971. It was the first Aboriginal community controlled health service in Australia, and it is now a key Indigenous community organisation, from which most Aboriginal medical services around the State of New South Wales have stemmed...
, the Aboriginal Child Care Agency, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University and the Western Australia Aboriginal Media Association. He was awarded the Human Rights Medal
Human Rights Medal (Australia)
The Human Rights Medal is awarded by the Australian Human Rights Commission each year. It was established in 1987 by the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to recognise the "contribution to Australian society of a wide variety of men and women committed to issues of human rights,...
in 1996.
In 1995, Riley announced in two speeches that a trio of older boys had sexually abused him during his time at Sister Kate's. On 1 May 1996, Riley committed suicide in Perth at the Bentley Motor Lodge. In the days leading to his death, he was unemployed and was charged with major motor infractions.
In 2004, the Centre of Aboriginal Studies established the Rob Riley Memorial Lectures in his honour
External links
- Curtin Indigenous Research Centre
- Posthumous Human Rights Awarded to Robert Riley
- Robert Riley Scholarships
- Rob Riley, a life lived in the cause of liberation
- Australia remains a deeply unreconciled nation, explains Quentin Beresford
- Rob Riley: Champion of Justice for Aboriginal People
- Obituary by Peter Yu, Executive Director of the Kimberley Land Council
- Curtin Indigenous Research Centre abstract Keynote Address delivered by Rob Riley to the Annual Conference of the Australian Psychologists Society in Perth, WA 1995
- Goodbye Robert Riley tells the story of the last days of Robert Riley, the OIC of the Aboriginal Legal Service in WA. Goodnight Alan looks at a famous West Australian and his first night of doing time at Her Majesties' pleasure.
- The Noongar people of Western Australia have found a sense of acceptance after a harrowing past
- WA's Black Chapter. Cedric Wyatt talks of Rob Riley's suicide at Bentley Motor Lodge on MayDay 1996