Lisa Bellear

Lisa Marie Bellear (2 May 1961 in Melbourne, Victoria – 5 July 2006 in Melbourne) was an Indigenous Australian poet, photographer, activist, spokeswoman, dramatist, comedian and broadcaster. She was a Goenpul woman of the Noonuccal people of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island), Queensland. She was also a Minjungbal woman and with Solomon Islander descent.

Biography Bellear's mother was Jocelyn 'Binks' Bellear and her father was Stanko Kvesic, a Croatian-born heavyweight boxer. Bellear was sexually abused in this home and was later sent, as a boarder, to Sacred Heart College, Ballarat and later finished high school at Mercy Regional College.

After completing her undergraduate degree in 1986 she became an Aboriginal liaison officer at the university and assisted other students like her through their studies. She worked there until 1995 and was strongly influence by her own experience of being removed from her family and believed strongly in self-determination. She identified as a ‘blak’ feminist and was committed to Aboriginal women’s rights and education.

Bellear died unexpectedly at her home in Melbourne. She was 45 years old and was then buried at Mullumbimby cemetery.

Other poetry was published in journals and newspapers. She was awarded the Deadly Awards prize in 2006 for making an outstanding contribution to literature with the Ilbijerri Theatre Company performed play by Kylie Beling, John Harding and Gary Foley The Dirty Mile: A History of Indigenous Fitzroy (a suburb of Melbourne) based on her original concept; and her many published poems and performances of her writing as a poet, actor and comedian.

Bellear was a prolific photographer. Her work was exhibited at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and at the Melbourne Museum as part of their millennium celebrations.

Community activities Bellear was a founding member of the Ilbijerri Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-op, the longest-running Aboriginal theatre troupe in Australia. Ilbijerri produced The Dirty Mile in March 2006 as a dramatised walking trail through the streets of Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Bellear also contributed to the Brunswick Power Football Club and the Australian Labor Party.

Recognition In 2008 Bellear was inducted posthumously to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. The City of Melbourne in partnership with the Victorian Women's Trust recognised Bellear's life and work in 2018 in naming a laneway in Carlton, Warrior Woman Lane, after her. The University of Melbourne named student accommodation at 303 Royal Parade, Parkville, Melbourne as Lisa Bellear House. Victoria University offer the Lisa Bellear Indigenous Research Scholarship. Bellear Gardens in the Canberra suburb of Franklin are named in her honour.