Elizabeth Maud Hoffman

Elizabeth Maud Hoffman, née Morgan, also known as Aunty Liz or Yarmauk, (10 March 1927 – 6 April 2009) was an Australian Indigenous rights activist and public servant. She co-founded the first Indigenous Woman's Refuge in Australia, named "The Elizabeth Hoffman House" in her honour. She was one of 250 women included in the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001 and received the inaugural NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Life Elizabeth Maud Morgan was born on 10 March 1927 in Cummeragunja, an Aboriginal reserve in New South Wales. Morgan's mother died when she was eleven, shortly after she had been removed from the family sent to live at the station hospital, where she worked as a domestic servant. In 1939, Morgan experienced the Cummeragunja walk-off, a protest by Aboriginal people against restrictive practices at the reserve, which shaped her further determination to fight for Aboriginal people's rights.

In 1954, Morgan gave birth to her first child, Ross. She was a single mother until 1956, when she met her partner with whom she had three children, Monica, Bernard and Denis. The family moved to Moama in New South Wales, but after separation, she took the children to Melbourne

Activism and achievements In early 1970s Hoffman co-founded an Aboriginal women's refuge in Melbourne, "The Elizabeth Hoffman House". In 1972, she also co-founded the Yorta Yorta Tribal Council, placing a claim over traditional lands. The same year she along with her sister Merle established the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service in Fitzroy, and co-founded the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service

In 1973, Hoffman became a chairperson of the Aborigines Advancement League and the same year she started as a Board Member and actor in the Nindathanan Theatre. In 1974, Hoffman and Eric (Joe) McGuinness co-founded the Aboriginal Housing Cooperative, with Hoffman as chairperson.

In 1982, Elizabeth Hoffman House became incorporated. In 1983, Hoffman returned to Cummeragunja and became a founding member of the Cummeragunja Housing and Development Corporation.

She was awarded a National NAIDOC Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.

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