Eve Mumewa Doreen Fesl is an academic in sociolinguistic policy and implementation and the first Indigenous Australian to receive a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from an Australian university in 1989. She is a member of both the Gubbi Gubbi (through her mother) and Gungulu (through her father) nations. She lectures at the Queensland University of Technology's Oodgeroo Unit.

Early life and education

Evelyn Serico was the first child of Maurice and Evelyn Reen (née Monkland-Olsen) Serico. Evelyn Reen was a Gubbi Gubbi person, while Maurice was of the Gungulu nation. She has a younger brother. Her mother was forcibly removed to the Barambah Aboriginal Reserve (now called

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

) under the '' Aboriginals Protection Act'', and she grew up on the reserve. An Englishman who brought books to the reserve inspired her mother to give her children a good education, so she moved her family to Brisbane for that reason. After moving to Brisbane, Fesl encountered racism at

Ashgrove State School Ashgrove State School is a heritage-listed state school at 31 Glory Street, Ashgrove, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Andrew Baxter Leven, James Findlay Leven and Arthur James Edwin Moase. The Depression-era brick ...

. She took up athletics to demonstrate that she could beat one of her classmates. She later learnt German and topped the state in her year of HSC but failed English. Her German score allowed her to study linguistics at Monash University. She later completed honours in anthropology, graduate diploma in international law and finally a PhD in 1989, documenting her mother's native Gubbi Gubbi language.

Sporting career

Fesl is a former champion discus thrower of Victoria and Queensland, In her youth, she was a versatile track and field athlete, competing in running, throwing and jumping events. She competed for Kelvin Grove in Queensland athletics. She moved to Melbourne in 1956 in an attempt to get into the Australian Olympic team. Her throw of was fifth in the qualifying event on 13 October 1956.

Recognition and honours

Fesl was awarded "Scholar of the Year" in the 1986 NAIDOC Awards. Fesl was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the

1988 Australia Day Honours The 1988 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1988 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. The Austra ...

and a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001. Following her mother's death in 2005, Fesl became the senior spokesperson for the

Gubbi Gubbi people The Gubbi Gubbi people also known as Kabi Kabi are an Aboriginal Australian people native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now classified as one of several Murri language groups in Queensland. Naming As is often the case, ethnonyms dist ...

. In December 2016, she was awarded a United Nations Association of Australia award, for "community work and past achievements".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fesl, Eve Living people Recipients of the Centenary Medal Members of the Order of Australia Year of birth missing (living people) Monash University alumni Kabi_Kabi