Matilda Williams House was born in 1945 on the Erambie Aboriginal Reserve at

Cowra Cowra () is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 8,254. Cowra is located approximate ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(NSW), and raised in her grandfather’s house at Hollywood

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 ...

in Yass, NSW. When she was 12, House spent a year in Parramatta Girls' Home. House was one of ten children. House identifies as belonging to the

Ngambri The Ngambri, also known as Kamberri, are an Aboriginal clan or group who claim traditional ownership of the Australian Capital Territory area, but their connection to the land is contested. One reason for this is that Canberra, where Ngam ...

Ngunnawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal–Gundungurra language, Ngunnawal and Gundungurr ...

family group (also referred to as Ngambri-''Ngunnuwal'' family group), which has been formally recognised by the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

(ACT)

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

as having historical connections to the

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

region and surrounds, particularly the region around Namadgi National Park.Matilda House, ‘Kymin and Kangaroo: a Ngambri love story’, Book 4, Tales from Ngambri History, ACT Department of Education, Youth and Family Services: Tuggeranong, ACT, 2003 Black Harry Williams, also known as Ngoobra, House’s great-grandfather, and Harry Williams her grandfather, both identified as Ngambri. There remains a dispute over who "rights to country" belong to in the ACT, with the ACT Government issuing formal protocols regarding recognition of the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the land on which Canberra is located, in response to a request from the United Ngunnawal Elders Council. House returned to Canberra in 1963 and has been actively involved in Indigenous Affairs in the Canberra region since 1967. House is the Chair of the

Local Aboriginal Land Council in

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

, NSW, which she established with her brothers in 1984, and the Joint Chair of the Interim Namadgi National Park Committee. She assisted in establishing the Aboriginal Legal Service in the 1980s, and has continued more recently through her membership of the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee. House has performed numerous welcoming ceremonies, including notably the first Welcome to Country to be held at the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

at the opening of the 42nd Parliament of Australia. House has also served on the first ACT Heritage Council, the United Ngunnawal Elders Council, the Queanbeyan Regional Council of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission ( ATSIC), the Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council, the Tent Embassy Advisory Committee and the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Consultative Council. She has also acted as an ACT honorary ambassador. House's involvement in Indigenous Affairs led to her delivering the welcome at Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation's "Sea of Hands" installation, and contributing to the 'Bringing Them Home' report into the Stolen Generations. She was also one of the original protestors who established the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. House was named Canberra Citizen of the Year by ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope MLA in 2006.

References

* House, Matilda Williams, ''Strong Lines New Directions: an exhibition of prints by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists living and working in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Museums and Galleries Section'', Museum and Galleries Section, Canberra, 1996, 39 pp

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:House, Matilda 1945 births Living people Australian indigenous rights activists Australian women human rights activists People from Cowra