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The long and proud history of Aboriginal women as custodians of family care and connection will be the subject of the Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture to be held at The University of Western Australia on Thursday (5 March).

Dr Tamara Mackean, a Senior Research Fellow with UWA's Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health, will give this year's lecture, "Journeys of Love and Activism: Aboriginal Women Sharing the Caring," which marks the start of International Women's Day celebrations in Perth.

A descendent of the Waljen clan of the Wongai Peoples of the Goldfields region in WA, Dr Mackean will share her family's story and her own journey as an Indigenous doctor and leader through adversity and success. She will also draw on examples of other Aboriginal women and their accomplishments, finishing her address with a personal family poem.

Dr Mackean graduated from the University of NSW with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery and was joint winner of the Alumni Award for Achievement. She is the President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association and works with governments, organisations, communities and individuals to bring about positive change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' wellbeing.

The Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture is held annually to commemorate the life and achievements of Grace Vaughan who died in 1984. She was a social worker, activist and parliamentarian dedicated to improving people's lives. She had a deep commitment to Australia's participation in the Asian region and to ensuring women's full participation in society.

The lecture is a partnership between The University of Western Australia, the Australian Association of Social Workers, the Department for Communities and the Office for Women's Policy. International Women's Day is on Monday, March 9.

WHAT: Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture - "Journeys of Love and Activism: Aboriginal Women Sharing the Caring".

WHEN: Thursday, March 5, 2009, from 6pm to 7pm

WHERE: The University Club Theatre Auditorium, a wheelchair accessible venue. (The nearest carpark is P3 off Hackett Drive Entrance 1.)

Media references

Audrey Barton (Institute of Advanced Studies) (+61 8) 6488 4797
Tamara Mackean ,
(Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health) (+61 8) 6488 1917
Sally Ann Jones (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8) 6488 7975 / (+61 4) 20 790 098