Lyall Munro Snr
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Lyall Munro Snr (30 September 1931– 21 May 2020), also known as Uncle Lyall Munro Senior, 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 Isl ...
activist, leader, and elder, especially known for his advocacy of
Indigenous land rights Indigenous land rights are the rights of Indigenous peoples to land and natural resources therein, either individually or collectively, mostly in colonised countries. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to Indigeno ...
. He was the husband of Carmine "Maggie" Munro, and father of
Lyall Munro Jnr 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 ...
.


Early life

Lyall Munro was born on 30 September 1931 in
Tingha, New South Wales Tingha is a small town on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia in Inverell Shire. Formerly part of Armidale Region, on 1 July 2019, responsibility for Tingha was transferred from Armidale Regional Council to Inverell Shire Co ...
. A
Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...
(or Komeroi; pronounced ''gomeroi'') man, he was a descendant of victims of the
Myall Creek massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve c ...
in 1838.PDF, see pp2067–2968
/ref> He had little formal education, and grew up in a world where
racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
was practised.


Activism

Munro was an avid advocate for
Indigenous land rights Indigenous land rights are the rights of Indigenous peoples to land and natural resources therein, either individually or collectively, mostly in colonised countries. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to Indigeno ...
throughout his life, interacting with
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
s and other leaders, and addressed forums on the international stage. He tried to change systems that incorporated systemic racism in Australia, fighting for equality in education and employment. He led a land rights march in Sydney in the 1980s. He was a strong advocate of
truth telling A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
, as a means to forge a new Australian national identity. In a 2014 interview with NSWALC, he said that he felt that the movement needed to be re-energised and emulate the radicalism of the 1970s.


Career


Moree

Munro and his father were given Australian citizenship in 1947. In 1950 he moved to
Moree, New South Wales Moree is a town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River, in the centre of the rich black-soil plains. The town is located at the junction of the Newell Highway and Gwydir Highwa ...
, as a junior foreman on the railways. At that time, Aboriginal people were not allowed in pubs or clubs or at the Moree swimming baths, or to walk on the sidewalk, or play football in the local team. the local cinema was segregated - Blacks had to sit in the front rows. Munro was allowed to go to pubs and do things that the local Aboriginal people were prohibited from doing, because of having citizenship rights, and started playing football in the local team. He got a lot of advice from the local elders in Moree, and realised that he could help his people attain the same rights as he enjoyed. He later got involved in the Moree Aboriginal Advancement Committee, which was made up of 8–10 Europeans, and became secretary there. Munro was in Moree when the Freedom Ride led by Charlie Perkins visited the town in February 1965. The purpose of the group of Aboriginal activists and white students, who travelled around rural towns in regional New South Wales in an old bus, was to raise awareness about racial segregation in these towns. The bus arrived in Moree on 19 February. The Freedom Riders collected a number of children from the local mission, including nine-year-old Dan Moree (son of Lyall Snr, brother of Lyall Jnr), and tried to gain entry into the Moree Swimming Baths. Munro told
NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...
in 2017 that he and the Moree Aboriginal Advancement Committee had been fighting to change the town's segregationist
by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
s for years before the Freedom Riders arrived, but not in a confrontational way. "...So we stood and watched in the crowd. It was their day and it was an ugly scene, pretty rowdy, pretty wild — a lot of violence". The event was widely covered by the media at home and internationally, and it caught the attention of the Australian public, proving to be a "seminal moment" in the history of Australia. A public meeting took place in the town afterwards, and the decision was taken to lift the colour bar on the pool. He served the community in Moree in many ways. He was on the hospital board for 10 years, and held positions in the Moree Aboriginal Sobriety House, Moree
Local Aboriginal Land Council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New ...
, and many housing organisations. He helped to found important local organisations, including the Pius X Aboriginal Corporation, Aboriginal Homecare, and the Aboriginal Employment Strategy.


NSW

Munro was member of the NSW Aboriginal Lands Trust, which had land passed to it by the government as well as having some bequeathed to it in private individuals' wills. They were successful in winning hunting and fishing rights over some lands, won land, including many of the
Aborigines Welfare Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
's
Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
s without having to go to court, by negotiation with the minister. They were successful in getting Kinchela Boys' Home and Cootamundra Girls' Home closed, and also encouraged young people to be initiated into their peoples' cultures. This organisation was sidelined and then abolished, after the
NSW Aboriginal Land Council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the '' Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in Ne ...
was created in 1977 and the ''
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW) is an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales which was enacted to return land to Aboriginal peoples through a process of lodging claims for certain Crown lands and the establishment of Aboriginal La ...
'' made this organisation a statutory body. Munro was not part of this new younger "land rights mob". In 1969 Munro was elected to the NSW Aboriginal Advisory Council, a body which gave advice to the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs after the
Aborigines Welfare Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
had been dismantled. He was a founding member of the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service in the 1970s, and later the
Legal Aid Commission A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court s ...
, which was based on the ALS model. With the Aboriginal Legal Service, Munro took part in rallies protesting the mining of asbestos by the James Hardie Company on the NSW North Coast at
Baryulgil Baryulgil is a rural locality in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. The locality is on the Clarence River (New South Wales), Clarence River in the Clarence Valley Council local government area. History According to the Geographical Names ...
.


National

He was a member of the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC, founded 1973), which later became the
National Aboriginal Conference The National Aboriginal Conference (NAC) was a national organisation established by the Australian Government to represent Indigenous Australians, that is Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The NAC was originally establi ...
(NAC). As an executive member of the NAC, Munro undertook treaty negotiations with the Fraser government (1975–1983). He contributed to the
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) (1987–1991), also known as the Muirhead Commission, was a Royal Commission appointed by the Australian Government in October 1987 to Federal Court judge James Henry Muirhead, ...
(1987–1991).


International

In 1981, Munro played a key role in Australia's hosting of the Third General Assembly of the
World Council of Indigenous Peoples The World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) was a formal international body dedicated to having concepts of aboriginal rights accepted on a worldwide scale. The WCIP had observer status in the United Nations, a secretariat based in Canada and r ...
(WCIP) in Canberra, and in the 1980s became an executive member of the WCIP. On 10 December 1993, on
International Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...
, during celebrations for the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Munro called on all levels of government to challenge systemic racism by allowing the voice of Aboriginal Australians to be heard. Munro was involved in discussions with Jose Ramos Horta seeking East Timor independence in the 1990s.


NSW

He was an inaugural member of the
NSW Aboriginal Housing Office The NSW Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) is a statutory authority within NSW Department of Family and Community Services in the Government of New South Wales that is responsible for the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of programs ...
(established 1998) and the AHO Regional Aboriginal Housing Committee. In 2000, Munro worked hard to achieve the erection of a memorial to the victims of the
Myall Creek massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve c ...
, near
Bingara Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. The ...
, as well as getting the site and memorial heritage-listed on both the
NSW State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Herita ...
and the
National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...
.


Death and legacy

Munro died on 21 May 2020. He was given a state funeral on Saturday 12 July 2020 at Moree. Around 650 people attended, and the crowd was addressed by his son Lyall Jnr and local member for the
Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...
, Adam Marshall, who represented the
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...
. His contribution to his local community, as well as causes relating to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, was wide-ranging and extraordinary. The 2020 chair of NSWALC, Anne Dennis, said that his dedication to land rights would be one of his greatest legacies.


Personal life

Munro and his wife of 63 years, Carmine Munro, known as "Maggie", who predeceased him, had 12 children. They had first met when they were children, but years passed before they saw each other again, at the
Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultu ...
showgrounds in 1948. They eloped to Moree in 1950, the year in which their first child, Paula, arrived. Their other children were: Lyall Jnr (born 1951), Danile ("Dan"), Keith, Julie, Selena, Jennifer, Lloyd (in 2021 vice-chair of the Moree
Local Aboriginal Land Council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New ...
), Elizabeth, Andrew, William, and Alma. Lyall Munro Snr was survived by 9 children, 45 grandchildren, 122 great-grandchildren and 28 great-great grandchildren. One estimate put his direct descendants as numbering more than 220.


Recognition

In 2002, Munro was a joint recipient of the National NAIDOC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Elders of the Year Award. In 2013 he was given the Aboriginal Justice Award by the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. A couple of months after his death, in August 2020, seven federal senators moved that the Australian Senate should honour the life of Munro in parliament. A photograph of the Munros, entitled "Mr and Mrs Lyall Munro" was included in a photographic exhibition by Indigenous photographer and filmmaker Michael Riley, ''A common place: Portraits of Moree Murries'', created in 1990. Smaller prints are held by the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney. and
National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
in Canberra.


Confusion with Lyall Jnr

Note that several sources with a summary biography say that Lyall Snr was a founding member of the
Aboriginal Housing Company The Block is a colloquial but universally applied name given to a residential block of social housing in the suburb of Redfern, Sydney, bound by Eveleigh, Caroline, Louis and Vine Streets. Beginning in 1973, houses on this block were purchase ...
(AHC). However, there is no corroborating evidence in the more detailed sources that he was involved in the founding of AHC, and it is likely that there has been confusion with his son Lyall Jnr (who, with his wife
Jenny Munro Jenny Munro (née Coe) is an Australian Wiradjuri elder and a prominent activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She has been at the forefront of the fight for Aboriginal housing at The Block in Sydney, and started the Redfern Aborig ...
, was involved in the founding of the AHC) There may also have been confusion with the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office, of which he was an inaugural member. Some sources say that he was involved in the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, but according to quite a comprehensive overview of the first 20 years of that organisation by
Gary Foley Gary Edward Foley (born 1950) is an Aboriginal Australian activist of the Gumbainggir people, academic, writer and actor. He is best known for his role in establishing the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972 and for establishing an Abo ...
, neither he nor Lyall Jnr is mentioned.PDF
/ref>


Footnotes


References


External link


Video of state funeral on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Lyall Snr Australian Aboriginal elders 2020 deaths 1931 births Indigenous Australians in New South Wales Indigenous Australian politics