Margaret Wirrpanda

Margaret Wirrpanda (1939 – 24 February 2013) was a campaigner for Australian Aboriginal rights.

Early life and education Margaret Briggs was born in 1939 at Cummeragunja, New South Wales, the daughter of activists Geraldine Clements Briggs and Selwyn Briggs. Her maternal aunt, Margaret Tucker, and maternal grandmother Teresa Middleton Clements were also active on behalf of Yorta Yorta rights. They were part of the movement that won approval of the 1967 Referendum. Wirrpanda became an officer of the National Council of Aboriginal and Islander Women when it formed in 1972, and was a co-founder of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service that same year, In 1973 she helped to found the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. She also served as principal of Worawa Aboriginal College, a school for Aboriginal youth founded by her sister, Hyllus Maris, in 1983. She is quoted as saying, "We concentrate too much on what happens overseas and not enough on what's going on here. When the water level gets low enough, we're all going to find out what it means to survive."

Personal life Margaret Briggs married David Wirrpanda. They had four children, including David Wirrpanda, a noted footballer.

Wirrpanda died in early 2013 in Melbourne, from complications related to diabetes.

In 2014 she was posthumously named to the Victoria Indigenous Honour Roll.