Ernest Francis Bridge, AM (15 December 193631 March 2013) was an Australian parliamentarian and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. He was a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

from 1980 to 2001, representing the electorate of Kimberley, first as a Labor Party representative (1980–1996) and then as a Labor Independent MP (1996–2001). He was the first

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

to be a Cabinet minister in any Australian government.

Biography

Bridge was born in

Halls Creek Halls is a plural of the word hall. Halls may also refer to: People * Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician * Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress * Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player * ...

; among his ancestors was First Fleet convict Matthew James Everingham. He was a pastoralist and businessman prior to entering politics, and was also a founding member of the Aboriginal Lands Trust in 1972. He served on the Halls Creek council from 1962 to 1979. At age 4, a visiting German

Pallottine The Pallottines officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate ( la, Societas Apostolatus Catholici), abbreviated SAC is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman C ...

priest baptised him at the Catholic mission in Balgo, making him the first person to be baptised there.

Political career

He contested the marginal seat of Kimberley for the Labor Party at the 1980 state election and won, defeating incumbent Liberal

Alan Ridge Keith Alan Ridge (born 18 July 1934) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1968 to 1980, representing the seat of Kimberley. He was a minister in the government o ...

, thus becoming the first Aboriginal member of the WA parliament. He was a backbencher for his first two terms, being re-elected at the 1983 election and 1986 election. Bridge was promoted to the ministry by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Brian Burke after the return of the Labor government at the 1986 election, with his appointment as Honorary Minister assisting the Ministers for Water Resources, The North-West and Aboriginal Affairs. This made him the first indigenous politician in Australia to serve in a ministerial portfolio. He was promoted in July 1986 to Minister for Water Resources, the North-West and Aboriginal Affairs. He was shifted to the portfolio of Minister for Small Business in 1988 after the accession of

Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...

as Premier, but regained his old portfolios in 1989 with his appointment as Minister for Agriculture, Water Resources and the North West, a role which he held until the defeat of the Labor government at the 1993 state election. Bridge continued as a member of the Shadow Ministry after Labor's defeat in 1993, serving as Shadow Minister for Trade from 1993 to 1994 and Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the North West from 1993 to 1996. He resigned from the ALP, sitting as a Labor Independent and was re-elected in 1996 as the Independent Labor Member for Kimberley. He retired at the 2001 election. In 1997, he established Unity of First People of Australia, a non-profit organisation which assists Aboriginal people in Western Australia with employment within the law and order, health and education industries. Bridge promoted the concept of a water pipeline from the Fitzroy River to Perth. He later went on to promote a larger scale scheme including piping water from northern Queensland rivers to the south-eastern Australian cities. In March 2013, Bridge sued a number of parties for damages after being diagnosed with several asbestos-related conditions including

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

asbestosis Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the human lung, lungs due to asbestos, asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest pain, chest tightness. Complications may include ...

, and

pleural disease Pleural disease occurs in the pleural space, which is the thin fluid-filled area in between the two pulmonary pleurae in the human body. There are several disorders and complications that can occur within the pleural area, and the surrounding tis ...

. Bridge said he had been exposed to asbestos fibre and dust while fulfilling his ministerial duties in the 1980s, and was suing the

Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

, the

Shire of Ashburton The Shire of Ashburton is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, covering an area of . It is named after the Ashburton River. The shire's administration centre is in the town of Tom Price. It had a ...

CSR Limited CSR may refer to: Biology * Central serous retinopathy, a visual impairment * Cheyne–Stokes respiration, an abnormal respiration pattern * Child sex ratio, ratio between female and male births * Class switch recombination, a process that chan ...

, Midalco,

Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian mining magnate and businesswoman. Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by h ...

's company

Hancock Prospecting Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is a leading Australian owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At stages of its trading, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd, Hancock Reso ...

and

Angela Bennett Angela Bennett (born ) is an Australian mining heiress and businesswoman. Biography Her father, Peter Wright, co-founded Wright Prospecting. Her brother was Michael Wright, the owner of the Voyager Estate winery in Margaret River. She heads ...

's Wright Prospecting. He was married to Mavis Bridge from 1960 until her death in March 2009 and had two daughters and two sons.

Honours

On 13 June 1993, Bridge received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) "in recognition of service to the WA Parliament and to Aboriginal Affairs." On 1 January 2001, he was awarded the

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 ...

for "service to the parliament and Aboriginal affairs". On 11 June 2012, he was named a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for "service to the Indigenous community, particularly through support for health management programs, and to the Parliament of Western Australia."

Discography

* ''Sings Kimberly Favourites'' (EMI Custom, 1979) * "Helicopter Ringer" (EMI Custom, 1980) * ''Helicopter Ringer'' (EMI Custom, 1980) * ''Live at the Concert Hall'' (EMI, 1982) * ''Signs It Australian'' (EMI, 1983) * ''Great Australian Dream'' (1990)

Ernie and Noel Bridge

* ''200 Years Ago'' (1994)

References