Leigh Bruce ‘Tracker’ Tilmouth (1954 – 28 February 2015) was a Northern Territory Aboriginal activist. Tilmouth was an

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

man who was born in the

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

region. He was part of the

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 ...

, being taken from his family at the age of three to Retta Dixon Home in Darwin and later raised on

Croker Island Croker Island is an island in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia, northeast of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. It was the site of the Croker Island Mission between 1940 and 1968. Indigenous peoples At the ...

. Tilmouth helped establish the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service and the Aboriginal health service in the south of the Northern Territory. He also served as director of the

Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern ...

. He was a lifetime member of 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 ...

and was, before pulling out, in the running to be the party's senator for the Northern Territory. Tilmouth died on Saturday 28 February 2015 after suffering with cancer and heart complications. He was given a state funeral at St Mary's Cathedral in Darwin on 12 March 2015.

Resources about

A biography of Tilmouth, entitled '' Tracker: stories of Tracker Tilmouth'' was published by

Alexis Wright Alexis Wright (born 25 November 1950) is an Aboriginal Australian writer. She is best known for winning the Miles Franklin Award for her 2006 novel '' Carpentaria''. She was the first writer to win the Stella Prize twice, in 2018 for her "colle ...

in 2017. Following its publication it won the following prizes in 2018; the

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Bailey ...

, the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...

for biography and the

Queensland Literary Award The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...

for non-fiction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilmouth, Tracker 1953 births 2015 deaths Arrernte people Australian Indigenous rights activists Australian Labor Party politicians Members of the Stolen Generations People from Alice Springs