Lyall Munro

Lyall Thomas Munro Jnr (born 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian elder, a former activist and member of many organisations serving Aboriginal Australians. He is known as a local leader in the town of Moree, New South Wales. He is the son of Lyall Munro Snr, and the husband of Jenny Munro.

Early life and education Lyall Thomas Munro, was born in Moree, New South Wales, in 1951, one of 12 children Lloyd Munro, vice-chair of the Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council, is a brother. They lived on New Moree Mission.

Early working life Munro moved to Sydney in 1967 or 1968 with his cousin Sammy Munro, and while staying with relatives at Bondi Junction went out and met other Aboriginal people at the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs. During this time he met Ghillar Michael Anderson and Billy Craigie, who were co-founders of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in January 1972, as well as Paul Coe and Sol Bellear, from the new Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS).

Activism Munro participated in the setting up of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972; the 1982 Commonwealth Games protests; 1988 Bicentennial protests; anti-Bjelke-Petersen actions in Queensland; and the dismantling of the gates of the Parliament House, Sydney, and Parliament House, Brisbane, after negotiations concerning Aboriginal land rights had failed to produce any result. He saw Paul Coe and Billy Craigie as heroes of resistance, and John Newfong as a brilliant Aboriginal journalist. His father, Lyall Munro Snr, also joined some of the protests, as did some parents of other activists. and has served many other Aboriginal organisations, including the Black Theatre, Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services, Redfern All Blacks, and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services

In 1976, Munro was one of 11 directors at the Aboriginal Housing Company in Redfern, Sydney.

In 1981 he was photographed by Juno Gemes speaking at Parliament House, Sydney, as a representative of National Aboriginal Legal Services.

In 1984 he was elected chairman of the ALS, succeeding Paul Coe, after working for the service for 10 years as a field officer and administrator. In the same year, he became the inaugural co-ordinator of National Aboriginal and Islander Legal Service Secretariat (NAILSS), and, together with Paul Coe and Sugar Ray Robinson, travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, as delegates to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 1984 and 1985. He spent some time in Strasbourg, running a program and giving lectures at the International Institute of Human Rights. However he missed Australia and felt lonely in Europe, so vowed never to leave Australia again.

he is known as a local leader in Moree.

Munro is known by the nickname "Lyally Mo" to close friends.

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