Lisa (Marie) Bellear (2 May 1961 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria – 5 July 2006 in Melbourne) was an
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
poet, photographer, activist, spokeswoman, dramatist, comedian and broadcaster.
She was a
Goenpul woman of the
Noonuccal people of
Minjerribah (
Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century. Today the island is split into two islands: North Stradbroke Is ...
),
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. Her uncles were
Bob Bellear, Australia's first Indigenous judge, and
Sol Bellear who helped to found the
Aboriginal Housing Corporation in
Redfern in 1972.
Bellear was adopted into a white family as a baby and was told she had Polynesian heritage. As an adult she explored her Aboriginal roots.
Bellear died unexpectedly at her home in Melbourne. She was 45 years old. She was buried at
Mullumbimby
file:BigThingsMullumbimby.jpg, Welcome sign in Mullumbimby
Mullumbimby, locally nicknamed Mullum, is a town in the Byron Shire in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It promotes itself as "The Biggest Little Town in Austra ...
cemetery.
Published works and photography
Posthumous poetry collection ''Aboriginal Country'', Ed. Jen Jewel Brown, UWA Publishing, 2018 was chosen as one of the books of the year by poet John Kinsella in ''Australian Book Review''.
Bellear wrote ''Dreaming in Urban Areas'' (UQP, 1996), a book of poetry which explores the experience of Aboriginal people in contemporary society. She said in an interview with
Roberta Sykes that her "poetry was not about putting down white society. It's about self-discovery."
Other poetry was published in journals and newspapers. She was awarded the
Deadly Awards
The Deadly Awards, formally titled National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards and commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander a ...
prize in 2006 for making an outstanding contribution to literature with the
Ilbijerri Theatre Company performed play by Kylie Beling, John Harding and Gary Foley ''The Dirty Mile: A History of Indigenous Fitzroy'' (a suburb of Melbourne) based on her original concept; and her many published poems and performances of her writing as a poet, actor and comedian.
Bellear was a prolific photographer. Her work was exhibited at the
2004 Athens Olympic Games and at the
Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, ...
as part of their millennium celebrations.
Community activities
Bellear was a broadcaster at the community radio station
3CR in Melbourne where she presented the show 'Not Another Koori Show' for over 20 years. She was a member of the 2003 Victorian
Stolen Generations
The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...
Taskforce, having herself been removed from her parents under this policy.
She was also a founding member of the
Ilbijerri Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-op, the longest-running Aboriginal theatre troupe in Australia. Ilbijerri produced ''The Dirty Mile'' in March 2006 as a dramatised walking trail through the streets of
Fitzroy, Melbourne.
Bellear also contributed to the
Brunswick Power Football Club and the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
.
Recognition
* In 2008 Bellear was inducted posthumously to the
Victorian Honour Roll of Women
The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...
.
* The
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the Melbourne central business district, central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a populati ...
in partnership with th
Victorian Women's Trustrecognised Bellear's life and work in 2018 in naming a laneway in Carlton, Warrior Woman Lane, after her.
*
The University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...
named student accommodation at 303 Royal Parade, Parkville, Melbourne as
Lisa Bellear House.
*
Victoria University offer the Lisa Bellear Indigenous Research Scholarship.
* Bellear Gardens in the Canberra suburb of
Franklin are named in her honour.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellear, Lisa
1961 births
2006 deaths
Australian Indigenous rights activists
Australian women human rights activists
Australian women photographers
Australian women writers
Indigenous Australian writers
Australian Aboriginal artists
Australian women artists
Australian feminist writers
Indigenous Australian feminists
Australian feminists
Members of the Stolen Generations
Women's Art Register artists