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Indigenous law students Aurora Milroy (in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts/Law at the UWA) and Ashley Walker have been announced as the 2011 John Koowarta Reconciliation Law Scholarship recipients.

First established in 1994, the Scholarship commemorates John Koowarta, a member of the Winychanam community at Aurukun and a traditional owner of the Archer River region on Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.

“The Law Council of Australia has been involved with this initiative for over 15 years and it has helped 19 Indigenous law students pursue their legal education,” said Law Council President, Alexander Ward.

“Aurora and Ashley are great role models for young Indigenous people across the nation considering a future career in the legal profession. They are deserving winners and I congratulate them for what they have achieved.”

The Scholarship is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in an approved course of study at or through an Australian tertiary institute, which is a prerequisite to admission as a legal practitioner in any Australian jurisdiction.

Ms Milroy — a Palyku woman of the Pilbara, Western Australia — said she was excited and honoured to win the award. “The Scholarship is going to make a real difference to my studies,” she said. “I’d like to put some of it towards going up to the Pilbara to go to native title meetings and get experience in that field of law. It will work as a supplement to what I have been studying and help me gain practical experience.”