Lillian Crombie

Lillian Crombie (1958 – 3 January 2024), also known as "Aunty Lillian", was an Aboriginal Australian actress and dancer, known for her work on stage, film and television.

Early life and education Lillian Crombie was born in 1958. She was of the Pitjantjatjara / Yankunytjatjara people of central Australia, but was taken from her parents at the age of seven and never saw them again. She grew up in a loving home with foster parents in Port Pirie, South Australia.

Crombie trained in classical ballet at the Port Pirie Ballet School, before winning a scholarship to Dance Concert Limited in Sydney, which started at the beginning of 1975, when she was 16. There she learnt and performed various cultural dances, such as the maypole dance, and in that year also did a dance and drama course at the National Black Theatre in Redfern. She then joined National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA)

Crombie then applied for and won a scholarship via Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) and the Australia Council to go to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. She also trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), after being invited by Keith Bain, and the Eora Centre. She learnt modern dance, jazz ballet and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance.

Career Dance Crombie toured with AIDT on its first international tour to Nigeria,

Working with Stephen Page, she had some fun doing mixed drag acts, and in the 1980s joined the Sydney Mardi Gras to support the gay community during the AIDS pandemic. Working with David Page, she performed at some fund-raising events for HIV/AIDS.

Stage Crombie's theatre credits include many productions with Company B at the Belvoir Street Theatre (Conversations with The Dead, Black Mary) and the Sydney Theatre Company, and she featured in Bangarra Dance Theatre's Clan

Crombie was a co host of the television show Blackout.

Having met film director Baz Luhrmann at NIDA in 1983, she applied for and won a role in his 2008 film Australia.

In October 2020, Crombie established a series of dance workshops for children in Port Pirie, in preparation for her planned establishment of the Lillian Crombie School of Dance and Drama. She said in a 2020 interview:

She was referred to with love and respect as "Aunty Lillian" in her later years.

Personal life Crombie was a survivor of the Stolen Generations,

She was a fan of the Sydney Swans Australian rules football club, and founded their First Nations supporters club, the Black Swans. After her death, they published a tribute to her.

A 2019 short television documentary in a series called Deadly Family Portraits, called Crombie Crew, focused on Lillian and her daughter Elaine. , the film is available on ABC iview.

Death and legacy Crombie had health issues and had to have kidney dialysis.

In an interview shortly after her death, Wesley Enoch (who had worked with her a lot) and her longtime friend and colleague Rachael Maza (who entered the industry at the same time as Crombie) spoke of her huge achievements and contributions to the industry. They talked of her talent for comedy as well as showing pathos.

Television Year Title Role Notes 1984 Mail Order Bride Aboriginal woman TV movie 1990 Ring of Scorpio Aboriginal woman Miniseries, 4 episodes 1991 Act of Necessity Yvonne TV movie 1994 Heartland Mary Dyer 4 episodes 2003 The Secret Life of Us Lani Watson 3 episodes 2007 Days Like These Mum TV movie 2008 Double Trouble Milly 13 episodes 2023 Faraway Downs Bandy Legs 6 episodes

Theatre Year Title Role Notes Ref 1984 Mereki the Peacemaker Toe Truck Theatre 1993 Gunjies Belvoir, Sydney 1995 Sydney Stories 2: The Blessing / Two Wongs / In the Club / The Way I Was Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC for Sydney Festival 2002 The Cherry Pickers Subina Northcott Theatre, Exeter, Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham with UK Arts International, The Library Theatre Company, Manchester & STC 2003 Conversations with the Dead Belvoir, Sydney 2006 Capricornia Various roles Seymour Centre, Sydney with Belvoir, Sydney 2009 The Man from Mukinupin Miss Clarry Hummer Belvoir, Sydney 2009; 2011 Rainbow's End Nan Dear Riverside Theatres Parramatta, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong Black-ed Up STC La Dispute STC