08 July, 2024

Respected Elder receives Lord Mayor’s NAIDOC Award

The City of Adelaide has awarded Uncle Frank Wangutya Wanganeen the 2024 Lord Mayor’s NAIDOC Award in Aboriginal Achievement. 

Uncle Frank was presented with the award by Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith in the Adelaide Town Hall at the annual South Australian NAIDOC Awards ceremony today.

The award honours the remarkable accomplishments and service of an exceptional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community member who has significantly contributed to reconciliation in the City of Adelaide. 

A highly respected Kaurna-Narungga man, Uncle Frank was raised on Point Pearce Mission on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia.

In the last 30 years he has become involved in Kaurna issues and worked with the City of Adelaide, Campbelltown and Salisbury Council reconciliation committees. Uncle Frank leads cultural heritage walking tours around Adelaide, explaining the significance of sites around what the city centre has become and along KarraWirra Parri (River Torrens).

The Lord Mayor told 360 guests at the awards ceremony she was honoured to present Uncle Frank with his award.

"Uncle Frank has been a trailblazer for our community who has worked tirelessly for more than 30 years,” she said.

“I am honoured to have presented him with the Lord Mayor's NAIDOC Award this year."

Adelaide is hosting the National NAIDOC Week celebrations for the first time in nine years. The event culminates with a march from Tarndanyagga (Victoria Square) to Elder Park on Friday for a family fun day.

Other events include NAIDOC in the Mall on Tuesday, 9 July, where the public can interact with Aboriginal businesses while enjoying activities for all ages, light refreshments and entertainment.

Biography

Uncle Frank Wangutya Wanganeen is a Kaurna/Narungga man born at Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and raised on Point Pearce Mission.

He travelled and lived between Point Pearce and Adelaide in his younger days and has now been a resident of Adelaide for many years, where he raised his family.

Uncle Frank has served on committees for over 30 years in the areas of reconciliation, local government, Aboriginal heritage, native title, social justice, and the revival of the Kaurna language.

He has been a member for the City of Adelaide and Campbelltown Council reconciliation committees, and Chair of the Salisbury Council Reconciliation Committee. He has more recently consulted with both the Holdfast Bay and Tea Tree Gully Councils on Kaurna projects relating to reconciliation and heritage.

Uncle Frank understands the importance of education and talks to school and university students about reconciliation, and Kaurna culture and heritage. He is a member of the University of South Australia’s Purkarninthi (Elders) in Residence and is involved in Aboriginal health through SAHMRI and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Uncle Frank is passionate about reconciliation and describes himself as a cultural educator who creates awareness of Kaurna cultural heritage and First Nations issues through his Kaurna Cultural Walking Tours in the Adelaide CBD. 

In 2017 Uncle Frank was the recipient of the Premier’s NAIDOC Award which he received for his contribution to the Aboriginal community. In 2021 as part of the Australia Day Awards, Uncle Frank was awarded the City of Salisbury Citizen of the Year

Colin James