Josephine Marjorie Agius (née Warrior; 2 April 1934 – 30 December 2015), known as Aunty Josie, was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the T ...

health and culture educator and

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. A

Narungga The Narungga people, also spelt Narangga, are a group of Aboriginal Australians whose traditional lands are located throughout Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Their traditional language, one of the Yura-Thura grouping, is Narungga. Country I ...

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

, and

Ngadjuri The Ngadjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lie in the mid north of South Australia with a territory extending from Gawler in the south to Orroroo in the Flinders Ranges in the north. Name Their ethno ...

woman, Agius became well known for her

Welcomes to Country A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular Aboriginal ...

at events and organisations.

Early life and education

Josephine Marjorie(or Marjory) Warrior was born on 2 April 1934 in

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wa ...

, on the

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strait ...

in South Australia. She was the daughter of Katie Edwards and Fred Warrior, and sister to

Winnie Branson Winnie or Winny may refer to: People * Winnie (name), various persons with the given name * David Winnie (born 1966), Scottish former association football player and manager Entertainment *Winnie-the-Pooh, a fictional teddy bear created by A. A. ...

(the eldest), Colin (who died as a teenager after stepping on a nail and not getting adequate treatment), Maureen, and

Vince Copley Vincent Warrior Copley (born Vincent Gilbert Warrior; 24 December 1936 – 10 January 2022) was an Aboriginal Australian sportsman, activist, elder, and leader. Early life Vincent Gilbert Copley, usually known as Vince, was born into poverty ...

, the youngest. Warrior was an anglicised form of Fred's father's name, Barney Waria (1873–1948). Barney Waria was one of a few last initiated Ngadjuri men, and his stories were documented by anthropologist

Ronald Berndt Ronald Murray Berndt (14 July 1916 – 2 May 1990) was an Australian social anthropologist who, in 1963, became the inaugural professor of anthropology at the University of Western Australia. He and his wife Catherine Berndt maintained a close ...

and his wife

Catherine Berndt Catherine Helen Berndt, ''née'' Webb (8 May 1918 – 12 May 1994), born in Auckland, was an Australian anthropologist known for her research in Australia and Papua New Guinea. She was awarded in 1950 the Percy Smith Medal from the University o ...

. Katie Edwards' parents were Joe and Maisie May (née Adams), and Maisie was a great-granddaughter of

Kudnarto Wellington Square, also known as Kudnartu (and formerly Kudnarto), is a public square in the Adelaide suburb of North Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of Adelaide. It is roughly at the centre of the largest of the three grids which c ...

. A

woman, she was the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry a colonist in South Australia. "Pappa" (Joe) was a

man, a grandson of "King Tommy", an important man who negotiated with settlers on the Yorke Peninsula. Agius grew up in the Narungga culture after her father died when she was three, but also listened to the stories of "Grandfather Barney", who was Ngadjuri. She was proud of her mixed heritage, which also included

Gladys Elphick Gladys Elphick (27 August 1904 – 19 January 1988) was an Australian Aboriginal woman of Kaurna and Ngadjuri descent, best known as the founding president of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia, which became the Aboriginal Cou ...

was an aunt. Katie would take young Josie on a donkey from Wallaroo to Kadina, where she did housework, leaving Josie in a playgrounds until she had finished work. Later Winnie looked after the younger children. When Josie was around seven or eight, the children went to live with their grandparents for around five years at

Point Pearce Point Pearce, also spelt Point Pierce in the past, is a town in the Australian state of South Australia. The town is located in the Yorke Peninsula Council local government area, north-west of the state capital, Adelaide. At the , Point Pearc ...

(an

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ce ...

) while Katie and Winnie went to find work in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. Agius and her siblings, apart from Winnie, went to school at Point Pearce before moving with their mother to Adelaide when she was around 10 or 11. They lived on

Henley Beach Road Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, and went to Thebarton School until around Year 6. Katie remarried, to a white man, Allan Copley, and the family moved up to Leigh Creek, where Copley had a job. They went to school at Leigh Creek, before moving to

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

, and Agius left school aged 14. Sometime after their mother died (when Josie was 16), Vince moved to

St Francis House St Francis House was a home for inland Aboriginal Australian boys from 1946 to 1959 at Glanville Hall in Semaphore South, Adelaide, South Australia. Father Percy Smith purchased Glanville Hall on behalf of the Anglican Church to provide accommo ...

, a home for Aboriginal boys in

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when ar ...

, while Agius got work in Adelaide. They also spent some time staying with Winnie at Pine Point. Early jobs in Adelaide included at the Franklin Hotel, and a live-in job as a waitress for two years at Methodist Ladies' College (later Annesley), before getting married and moving to

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

Career

In her youth in Adelaide, Agius (as well as father Fred and siblings Vince and Winnie) were involved with the

Aborigines Progress Association use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kent Town, Adelaide , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = ...

which was being run by John Moriarty, and the Aboriginal Women's Council, which was run by their aunt,

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the Parliament of South Australia, ...

(later

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier ...

) used to meet with the groups at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

, and Agius and siblings would attend the annual

FCAATSI The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), founded in Adelaide, South Australia, as the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) on 16 February 1958, was a civil rights organisation whic ...

(Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) meetings. Agius later said that politics did not really interest her, and that their aunt Mary Williams and sister Winnie were more active in the groups. In the 1970s she started working in

Aboriginal health Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

. She worked for seven years at the Aboriginal Health Unit, travelling from

Taperoo Taperoo is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the LeFevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. Description Taperoo is adjacent to Osborne and Largs North. It is bounded ...

down to

Norwood Norwood may refer to: Places Australia * Norwood, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide ** Norwood Football Club, an Australian rules football club * Electoral district of Norwood, a state electoral district in South Australia * Norwood, Tas ...

to pick up a car each day for use in the Port Adelaide, where most of the Aboriginal people who had moved down from the reserves and missions lived. Agius was responsible for the Port Adelaide area of the unit that developed a

cultural framework Cultural framework is a term used in social science to explain traditions, value systems, myths and symbols that are common in a given society. A given society may have multiple cultural frameworks (for example, United States society has diffe ...

for service delivery by hospitals and other health services to Aboriginal people. After her husband died, by which time she had two grandchildren, Agius worked at Taperoo Primary School for seven years, from 1984 until 1991. After a short break, she worked with linguist

Rob Amery Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...

, who was involved in the revival of the

Kaurna language Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...

, and started teaching language and culture at different schools. The children called her "Auntie Josie", and she became well known by this moniker. She helped school staff to liaise with Aboriginal students and their families, introduced Aboriginal Culture Week, ensured that students were involved in

NAIDOC Week NAIDOC Week ( ) is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was originally National Aborigines Day ...

activities, and assisted in establishing the Kurruru Indigenous Youth Art Centre in Port Adelaide. She attended

Tauondi Aboriginal College Tauondi Aboriginal College, also known as Tauondi Aboriginal Community College, is a non-profit independent Australian Aboriginal college in Port Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1973. Their name was used to honor the traditional owners of ...

for three years as an adult, where she did a "Tourism and Language" course, along with reading, writing, and maths. In 2000 she was working with children at the Youth Theatre in Port Adelaide, running dance and circus classes. She set up an Indigenous theatre group. Agius was keen netballer, also worked as a sports administrator in netball and football, and was frequently called on to do

at organisations and events such as the

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

. In 2013, she was greeted by Australian captain Michael Clarke as she gave her Welcome at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

on the first day of the 2013 Ashes Test. Agius was recognised for her work as a teacher, and for her work on

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedr ...

. In 2000 she said: On 10 March 2011, she spoke at an

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

event on the steps of

Parliament House, Adelaide Parliament House, on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road in the Adelaide city centre, is the seat of the Parliament of South Australia. It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as " ...

Personal life

Josie married Freddie Agius. They lived in Mount Gambier, where they had two sons, before moving to Port McDonnell for six years. After that they moved to the Adelaide suburb of

, where they had a daughter, two more sons, and then another daughter. She was a fan of

Port Adelaide Football Club Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed the Power, whilst its reserv ...

, and spent time with Indigenous footballers. She became the ambassador for the Port Adelaide Power Cup.

Recognition and honours

In 1990, Agius was named Aboriginal Person of the Year by Port Adelaide Council. In 1998, she was appointed South Australian Ambassador for Adult Learning. In the New Year's Honours in 2001, she was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate ...

for services to the community, particularly youth. In 2009 Agius was inducted into the SA Women's Honour Roll. In 2014, she was awarded the

David Unaipon Award The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

. She was patron of the NAIDOC SA Awards in 2014 and 2015, and herself received the Premier's NAIDOC Award in 2014 "for improving the lives and welfare of Aboriginal peoples in South Australia". On 1 May 2016, Agius' name was added to the Port Adelaide Workers' Memorial. in honour of her being a "good unionist", and working for better working conditions for ordinary people. In 2017, the

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

named Park 22, one of the

Adelaide Park Lands The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surr ...

parks, Josie Agius Park/Wikaparntu Wirra in her honour, as she was a strong supporter of girls' netball. ''Wikaparntu Wirra'' is a newly constructed Kaurna word meaning "netball park". On 15 February 2021, the

City of Port Adelaide Enfield The City of Port Adelaide Enfield, located across inner north and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, is one of the largest metropolitan councils within South Australia. It was established on 26 March 1996 by the amalgamation of the City of Port ...

officially renamed Taperoo Reserve, home of the Port Adelaide Soccer Club, to Ngarrpadla (''Nar-pud-lah''; meaning "Auntie" in Kaurna) Josie Agius Reserve.

Death and legacy

Agius, by then regarded as senior elder, died on 30 December 2015. She was honoured by many members in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parlia ...

after a motion brought by

Tammy Franks Tammy Anne Franks (formerly Jennings; born July 1968) is an Australian politician who was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council for the SA Greens at the 2010 state election. Early life Born in Dubbo and raised largely in seaside ...

, and in federal parliament

Tony Zappia Antonio Zappia (born 13 June 1952) is an Australian politician and former powerlifting champion. He has been an Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Makin in South Australia since the 2007 election. Back ...

paid tribute to her. A funeral service held for her at

Alberton Oval Alberton Oval is located in Alberton, a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ground is a public park and is exclusively leased to the Port Adelaide Football Club for Australian rules football. History With the nearby Queen ...

on 14 January 2016 drew hundreds of mourners, including the state premier,

Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian politician who was the 45th Premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the House of Assembly seat of Cheltenham as a member o ...

Hieu Van Le Hieu Van Le, ( vi, Lê Văn Hiếu; born 1 January 1954) was the 35th governor of South Australia, in office from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2021. He served as the state's lieutenant-governor from 2007 to 2014. He also served as chair of th ...

, the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

, and

Kyam Maher Kyam Joseph Maher is an Australian politician who has been Attorney-General of South Australia and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since March 2022. He was appointed to a casual vacancy in the South Australian Legisl ...

, SA Aboriginal Affairs Minister. She was remembered for her commitment and work as an educator, for being one of the earliest Aboriginal health workers in the state, as a sought-after cultural consultant, as well as for her sense of humour. Her remains were interred at

Cheltenham Cemetery Bouncer's Lane Cemetery, also known as Cheltenham Cemetery and Prestbury Cemetery, at Bouncer's Lane, Prestbury, Cheltenham, is a cemetery founded by the Burial Board of the Improvement Commissioners for Cheltenham. Consecrated in 1864, it rem ...

. The Aunty Josie Agius Award is an award given to an Aboriginal employee or team working in any role in the South Australian Department for Education. The Aunty Josie Agius Youth Achievement Award is given by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield as part of the annual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards. There is a meeting room named after her at the

Department for Infrastructure and Transport The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT), formerly the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), is a large department of the government of South Australia. The website was renamed , but without a formal announce ...

Footnotes

References

External links

Photo of Josie Agius
2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Agius, Josie 1934 births 2015 deaths People from South Australia Indigenous Australian women Narungga Kaurna Indigenous Australian health professionals Indigenous Australian education