Respected Wiradjuri Elder and long-time Redfern community leader Aunty Millie Ingram has been appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for her lifelong dedication to the Indigenous community in New South Wales. The award acknowledges more than half a century of service – from early childhood education and public service to aged care and cultural advocacy.
Aunty Millie began her work in Sydney in the 1950s, during a time of widespread discrimination and limited rights for Aboriginal people. In the 1970s, she helped establish the Murawina Childcare Centre in Redfern, one of the first Aboriginal-run early learning centres in the country, aiming to instil cultural pride in children from a young age.
Later, she worked in the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, pushing for more government investment in culturally grounded education and community programs. She now oversees Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care, which supports over 160 Elders to live independently in their homes, guided by Aboriginal values and protocols.
Speaking with James O’Loughlin on ABC Radio Sydney on June 9, Aunty Millie reflected on both the achievements and the setbacks experienced over the decades. “We have made some changes over time – slowly – though we’ve also taken a few steps backward,” she said. “Take the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody, for example. Forty million dollars was spent – and what did it achieve? We’re still dying in custody. Not one person has been held accountable.”
She also questioned the ongoing resistance faced by Aboriginal communities. “I still don’t understand why there’s resistance to Aboriginal advancement,” she said. “People really need to do some soul-searching and ask themselves, Why am I like this?”
Still, Aunty Millie sees hope in the next generation. “Things have improved. And I really think that’s because of our younger people – I’m so proud of them,” she said. “Not just young Aboriginal people, but all young Australians. They have a better sense of justice than people did in my day, and that gives me real hope.”
Now in her 90s, Aunty Millie is still working, still leading and still advocating. “I hope more people will look up Wyanga. We don’t get enough funding to do all we need. We need more support, because we’re competing with 99 per cent of the rest of the sector. Thank you.”
