Bobby McLeod

Bobby McLeod (1947 – 30 May 2009) was an Aboriginal activist, poet, healer, musician and Yuin elder. He was from Wreck Bay Village, Jervis Bay Territory. He was involved in the fight for Aboriginal rights in Australia and travelled the world speaking about cultural lore, health and healing.

Life Bobby was born in 1947, the oldest of 6 kids, and a descendant of the Jaimathang, Gunai Kurnai, Monero, Wandandian, and Yuin people from south eastern Australia. He grew up at Worragee, an Aboriginal community outside Nowra. His father, Arthur, was a labourer and a boxer. His mother, Isabelle, was active in the Worragee-Wreck Bay chapter of the Country Women's Association and the local Baptist church. Her father was Robert Brown, the first Aboriginal stipendiary magistrate. His father's father was a black tracker on the NSW south coast. Bobby started his singing career in the Baptist Youth Fellowship choirs. He learnt to play the guitar from Jimmy Little's family.

Bobby completed his Intermediate at Nowra High School in 1963, excelling at sport. His family moved to the new "model suburb" of Green Valley in Sydney's south-west. In 1966, a Sydney City Mission report on the suburb described "a lack of community life, a breakdown in family life, large numbers of deserted wives, needy children and bewildered people". Within two years of moving there, Bobby had been sentenced to five years in jail for assault and robbery after a fight at Blacktown RSL. The incident happened in the DAA offices in Canberra.

Earlier that day there had been a land rights demonstration when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrived at Parliament House for the opening of parliament.

Bobby had gone into the DAA office with Reuben John Smith looking for the department head, Barrie Dexter, who was away in Tasmania at the time. They held Moy and three other DAA staff members in the office for an hour and a half. Bobby allegedly told them "I'm going to keep you here for four or five days and teach you to starve".

After about an hour Charlie Perkins arrived from outside parliament house and convinced Bobby to give him the gun. Charlie removed the bullets from the gun, which he later handed over to the police. The fact that there were no bullets in the gun when it was given to the police meant that Bobby was only charged with possession of an unlicensed gun, rather than the much more serious charge that would have followed if it had been loaded.

Bobby was fined $40 for the incident and put on a 12-month good behaviour bond. He remained grateful to Charlie Perkins for having the presence of mind to remove the bullets. The matter was discussed in parliament.

A few days after the incident, during an interview on ABC radio, Bobby said "I would die for my people, I'm not frightened of that".

In the early 1990s, he started the Doonooch dance group, primarily as a way to keep young Aboriginal people away from alcohol and other drugs and provide them with gainful employment and a cultural and spiritual awakening.

In 2002 Bobby McLeod co-taught, along with Dr. Tom Balistrieri, an engineering class at Worcester Polytechnic Institute titled, Indigenous Wisdom and Modern Technology. The class focused on Life Lore and Dead Lore and how engineers must take this into account when designing and building projects. Bobby lived in the home of Tom and Kathryn Balistrieri during that time.

McLeod's album Dumaradje was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 2005 ARIA Awards.

"Wayward Dreams" was featured in both the SBS documentary and the accompanying cd, Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music.

Selected performances Oz Against Apartheid, 26 June 1986, Selina's Coogee Bay Hotel With Roger Knox and Euraba Band, 5 December 1986, The Settlement, Chippendale Tamworth Country Music Festival, 1987, Tamworth Afrika Night, 24 March 1990, Paddington Town Hall Support People of the Rainforests, 14 October 1990, Paddington Town Hall

Discography Albums + List of albums Title Album details Culture Up Front Released: 1987 Label: Enrec (ENC 037) Formats: cassette Sprit Mother Released: 1993 Label: Larrikin Records (CDLRF 275) Formats: CD Paradox Released: 2001 Label: Presenza (BMAC 003) Formats: CD Dumaradje Released: 2005 Label: Acmec Records (ACMEC046) Formats: CD

Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. 2005 Dumaradje Best World Music Album

Books