Robert Lewis Maza (25 November 1939 – 14 May 2000), known as Bob Maza, was an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Island ...
actor, playwright and activist.
Early life and education
Robert Lewis Maza
was born on
Palm Island in
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...
on 25 November 1939,
to a
Murray Islander (
Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...
) father and to a
Yidinjdji (
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
) mother.
[Bob Maza]
on the website of the Australia Council for the Arts
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
[
He was one of the first Aboriginal children in northern Queensland to complete secondary schooling, and described feelings of alienation and being caught between two cultures as a teenager.][ After finishing school in ]Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
, he worked as a labourer and then did office work in Darwin, Northern Territory.[
]
Activism
After moving to Melbourne in the late 1960s, he joined the Aboriginal Advancement League (AAL) and started becoming involved in Indigenous rights activism.[ He was inspired by '' Malcolm X Speaks'', and subsequently made president of the AAL.][
In 1970 Maza attended the third ]Pan-African Conference
The First Pan-African Conference was held in London from 23 to 25 July 1900 (just prior to the Paris Exhibition of 1900 "in order to allow tourists of African descent to attend both events").Ramla Bandele"Pan-African Conference in 1900", Article ...
in the United States, where he witnessed the effectiveness of Indigenous theatre.[ Also in 1970, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the subject of "the third-world status of Indigenous Australians".][
In 1972, he took part in the ]Aboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a permanent protest occupation site as a focus for representing the political rights of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. Established on 26 January (Australia Day) 1972, and celebrating ...
protest.[
]
Acting career
Television
After moving to Melbourne in the 1960s, Maza became a musician and actor, featuring in various television dramas, becoming particularly known for his role as the articled clerk Gerry Walters in the ABC series '' Bellbird''. He also appeared in many other television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
, including ''Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
'', '' Homicide'',[ '' Harry's War'', '' Wildside'', '']A Difficult Woman
''A Difficult Woman'' is an Australian television series which screened in 1998 on the ABC. The three part series starred Caroline Goodall, in the title role of a woman whose best friend is murdered and is determined to find out why. It was writt ...
'', ''A Country Practice
''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...
'', ''Women of the Sun
''Women of the Sun'' is an Australian historical drama television miniseries that was broadcast on SBS Television and later the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1981. The series, co-written by Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris, was composed of fou ...
'' and ''Heartland
Heartland or Heartlands may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution
* Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States
* Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization ...
''.
Theatre
In 1971 Maza started working in theatre with Jack Charles
Jack Charles (5 September 1943 – 13 September 2022), also known as Uncle Jack Charles, was an Australian stage and screen actor and activist, known for his advocacy for Aboriginal people. He was involved in establishing the first Indigenous t ...
, and together they formed Nindethana
Nindethana Theatre was Australia's first Aboriginal theatre company, founded in Melbourne in 1971, with its last performance in Adelaide in 1974.
Establishment and aims
The theatre company was formed after the Australia Council for the Arts as ...
, putting on a humorous piece called ''Jack Charles Is Up and Fighting'', subtitled "It‟s tough for us Boong
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
s in Australia today".[ In mid-1972][ helped to establish the ]National Black Theatre
The National Black Theatre is a non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York.
History
The National Black Theatre (NBT) is a non-profit cultural and educational ...
in Sydney (with Brian Syron
Brian Gregory Syron (19 November 1934 – 14 October 1993) was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations feature ...
and Justine Saunders
Justine Florence Saunders, (20 February 1953 – 15 April 2007) was an Australian stage, television and film actress. She was a member of the Woppaburra, an Australian Aboriginal people, from the Kanomie clan of Great Keppel Island in Queens ...
),[ and played a role in their first production, '' Basically Black''.][
After the National Black Theatre lost its funding, Maza helped to found the Black Theatre Arts and Culture Centre in Redfern, and was its first artistic director when it opened in July 1974. In January 1975, he directed his first play, ]Robert J. Merritt
Robert James Merritt (1945 – May 2011), known as Bob Merritt or Bobby Merritt and credited as Robert J. Merritt, was an Aboriginal Australian writer and activist. He is especially known for his play '' The Cake Man'', and for founding the Eor ...
's ''The Cake Man
''The Cake Man'' is a 1975 play by Aboriginal Australian writer Bob Merritt, notable for being the first play written by an Indigenous Australian person to be published, televised and to tour out of Australia. A telemovie was made of a 1977 pe ...
'', which was the first play by an Indigenous playwright to be published, televised, and tour internationally. He later directed Roger Bennett's ''Up the Ladder'' (1989), Jack Davis' ''No Sugar'' (1994) and Owen Love's ''No Shame'' (1995).[
Appearing on stage for ]Nimrod Theatre
The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "go ...
, he acted in Eric Bentley
Eric Russell Bentley (September 14, 1916 – August 5, 2020) was a British-born American theater critic, playwright, singer, editor, and translator. In 1998, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the New ...
's ''Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been?'' (1976), Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel '' Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, ...
's ''Bullie's House'' (1980) and Michael Frayn's ''Clouds'' (1980).[
]
Films
He also acted in films, including ''When the Stars Came Dreaming'' (1998), '' Lilian's Story'' (1996), ''The Back of Beyond
''The Back of Beyond'' (1954) is a feature-length award-winning Australian documentary film produced and directed by John Heyer for the Shell Film Unit. In terms of breadth of distribution, awards garnered, and critical response, it is Heyer' ...
'' (1995), ''The Nostradamus Kid
''The Nostradamus Kid'' is a 1992 Australian feature film written and directed by Bob Ellis.
The film is about the religious and sexual coming of age of a 1950s and 1960s Seventh-day Adventist boy. Ken Elkin (Noah Taylor) is a "randy young m ...
'' (1993), ''Reckless Kelly
''Reckless Kelly'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film produced, written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. It co-stars Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle and Hugo Weaving. The story is a satirical take on a modern-day Ned Kelly, a famous Australian ou ...
'' (1993), ''Ground Zero
In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the ground ...
'' (1987), ''The Fringe Dwellers
''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel '' The Fringe Dwellers'' by Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann, ...
'' (1986), ''BabaKiueria
''Babakiueria'' (also known under the video-title ''Babakiueria (Barbeque Area)'') is a 1986 Australian satirical film on relations between Aboriginal Australians and European Australians.
Synopsis
''Babakiueria'' revolves around a role-reversa ...
'' (1986), '' White Man's Legend'' (1984), and '' 27A'' (1974).[
]
Literary career
Maza's most notable play was ''The Keepers'' (1989). ''Mereki'' (first performed 8 October 1984), ''Tiddalik the Frog'', and ''The Rainbow Serpent'' (1992)[ were based on traditional pre-colonial stories (see Rainbow Serpent and ]Tiddalik
The tale of Tiddalik the Frog is a creation story from Australian Indigenous Dreaming Stories. The legend of Tiddalik is not only an important story of the Dreamtime, but has been the subject of popular modern children's books. In some Aboriginal ...
), with the intention of helping to regenerate Aboriginal culture.[PDF]
/ref>
''The Keepers'', based on the true story of a Scottish settler family meeting the last few members of the Buandig
The Bungandidj people are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Mount Gambier region in south-eastern South Australia, and also in western Victoria. Their language is the Bungandidj language. Bungandidj was historically frequently rendered ...
(Boandik) people of Rivoli Bay
Rivoli Bay, (french: Baie de Rivoli) is a bay located on the south-east coast of the Australian state of South Australia about south-southeast of the state capital of Adelaide and about northwest by west of the regional centre of Mount Gambier ...
in South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
[ during the frontier wars, was performed at the ]Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...
, by the Troupe Theatre, directed by Geoff Crowhurst, and at Belvoir Street Theatre
Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack.
The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...
in 1988,[ starring Lillian Crombie and ]Danny Adcock
Danny Adcock (born 29 June 1948) is an Australian actor, known for his work in television and theatre.
His television acting roles include 7 different roles in Crawford Production series ''Matlock Police'' as the killer of Michael Pate's chara ...
, and directed by Maza.
It was the first play produced by the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust,[ and Maza won the National Black Playwright Award for the production.][
]
Other activities
Maza lectured in Indigenous Studies at Tranby Aboriginal College
Tranby is a heritage-listed former residence and now adult education centre for Aboriginal Australians in Sydney, commonly known as Tranby Aboriginal College.
It is located at 13 Mansfield Street in the inner western Sydney suburb of Glebe i ...
in the Sydney suburb of Glebe and was Assistant Director of Studies there.[
He was the first Indigenous commissioner of the ]Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...
from 1995 to 1998, during which time he helped to create its Indigenous Unit.[
]
Recognition
In 1981 Maza was an official delegate to the World Indigenous Festival in Canada[
He won the National Black Playwright Award for ''The Keepers'' (1989).][
In 1993, he was awarded the Order of Australia for services to the arts and to Indigenous people.
In 1998 Maza won the ]Red Ochre Award
The Red Ochre Award is an annual art award for Indigenous Australian artists.
Background and description
The Red Ochre Award was established in 1993 by the Australia Council for the Arts.
It is awarded annually to an outstanding Indigenous A ...
,[ which has been awarded by the ]Australia Council for the Arts
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
since 1993 to an outstanding Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...
artist for lifetime achievement.[
]
Death and legacy
Maza died on 14 May 2000 in Sydney.[
]
Awards in his name
At the Tudawali Awards
Robert Tudawali (1929 – 26 July 1967), also known as Bobby Wilson and Bob Wilson, was an Australian actor and Indigenous activist. He is known for his leading role in the 1955 Australian film ''Jedda'', which made him the first Indigenous Aus ...
in 2002, the Indigenous Unit of the Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...
(AFC) awarded the Bob Maza Memorial Award, to recognise emerging acting talent and support professional development. This was awarded to Ursula Yovich
Ursula Yovich is an Aboriginal Australian actress and singer.
Early life and education
Yovich was born and grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Her father, Slobodan Jović, was a Serbian immigrant who anglicised his name to Stan ...
[
]
Bob Maza Fellowship
The Bob Maza Fellowship was created by the AFC (and from mid-July 2008 awarded by its superseding body, Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...
), "to an established Indigenous actor to further their professional development, provide longevity in their career and raise their profile internationally",[ and the (2008) awarded by the AFC had to be used on travel to attend further training at an international film training institution, meetings with agents, and/or establishing contacts in the international arena.
Winners of the Bob Maza Fellowship include:
* 2005: Ursula Lovich & Tom E. Lewis]
* 2006: Leah Purcell
Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to role ...
[
* 2007: ]Aaron Pedersen
Aaron Pedersen is an Aboriginal Australian television and film actor. He is known for many film and television roles, in particular as Detective Jay Swan in the film '' Mystery Road'', its sequel '' Goldstone'', and spin-off television series. ...
[
* 2008: ]Luke Carroll
Luke Carroll is an Australian stage, television and film actor.
Education
Carroll attended Marcellin College Randwick and graduated in 1996.
Television and film
Carroll started out in guest roles in some Australian shows, including '' The Fly ...
, presented at the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival
Message Sticks Festival, also known for some time as Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, was an arts festival celebrating the culture of Aboriginal Australians, based at the Sydney Opera House, between 1999 and 2013. It focused on film for ...
at the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
*2011: Wayne Blair Wayne Blair may refer to:
* Wayne Blair (cricketer) (1948–2019), New Zealand cricketer
* Wayne Blair (director)
Wayne Blair (born 28 November 1971) is an Australian writer, actor and director. He was on both sides of the camera in '' Redfer ...
*2013: Tony Briggs
Tony Briggs (born 3 July 1967) is an Australian actor, writer and producer. He is a former track and field athlete. He is best known for creating the stage play '' The Sapphires'' (later a 2012 film) telling the true story of an Aboriginal s ...
[
]
Uncle Bob Maza Memorial Award
The Uncle Bob Maza Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Victorian Indigenous Theatre has been awarded at the Victorian Indigenous Performing Arts (VIPA) Awards for some years.[ Recipients include:
*2003: ]Rachael Maza
Rachael Zoa Maza is an Indigenous Australian television and film actress and stage director.
Early life and education
Maza is of Dutch, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian heritage, the daughter of Bob Maza, also an actor.
She is ...
*2005: Warren Owens
*2014: Noel Tovey
Noel Christian Tovey (born 25 December 1934) is an Australian dancer, actor, mentor, director and choreographer. He was the artistic director for the indigenous welcoming ceremony at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Early life
Born in Melbourne, th ...
*? (twice): Pauline Whyman
Personal life
He married Dutch immigrant to Australia, Vera Blankman, and the couple were parents to actor and director Rachael Maza Long and writer Lisa Maza.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maza, Bob
1939 births
2000 deaths
20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Australian male actors
Australian male dramatists and playwrights
Australian male film actors
Australian male television actors
Indigenous Australian male actors
Indigenous Australian writers
Members of the Order of Australia