Robert Vincent Anderson (born 31 July 1929) is an

Australian Aboriginal elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...

and former union official. Anderson, often referred to as Uncle Bob, is known for his long association with the

Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia The Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia was an Australian trade union covering workers in the construction industry. Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners of Australia It was originally established as the Australian District ...

where he was state organiser from 1951 to 1978. He is also an honorary member of the

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...

. As a Ngugi elder from Mulgumpin in

Quandamooka The Quandamooka people are Aboriginal Australians who live around Moreton Bay in Southeastern Queensland. They are composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukul, the Goenpul and the Ngugi, and they live primarily on Moreton and North Stradbro ...

, Anderson has also served in various roles with an array of Indigenous organisations, working in the fields of

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

youth welfare Child and family services is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, ''environmental'' or ''biological''. People who seek or are sought after to participate in ...

and

cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultur ...

. In the 1960s, Anderson was a member of the Queensland Council for Advancement for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. In 1999, he was appointed chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Board, a role he retired from in 2003.

Recognition

In 1997, Anderson was awarded the Premier's Award for Seniors and was the

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

Indigenous Elder of the Year in 1998. He was awarded

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

in 2000 and from

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

in 2002. In 2001, Anderson 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 his distinguished service in promoting reconciliation, 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 ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

for his service to Queensland's indigenous community, was one of the first five people to be named as

Queensland Greats The Queensland Greats Awards recognise outstanding Queenslanders for their years of dedication and contribution to the development of the state and their role in strengthening and shaping the community in Queensland, Australia. The awards are pr ...

, and received

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

's Citizen of the Year Award. A

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

about Anderson, written by Christine Peacock, was published in 2001 entitled ''History, Life and Times of Robert Anderson Gheebelum, Ngugi, Mulgumpin: Community and Personal History of a Ngugi Elder of Mulgumpin in Quandamooka, South East Queensland, Australia. Since 2010, the

Queensland Council of Unions The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, an advocacy group, or peak body, of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a labour council, in the Queensland, Australia. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches w ...

has given the Dr Robert (Uncle Bob) Anderson Award each year during annual

NAIDOC Week NAIDOC Week ( ) is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was originally National Aborigines Day ...

celebrations to an indigenous activist who is credited with making an outstanding contribution to the union movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Robert Vincent 1929 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Aboriginal elders Trade unionists from Brisbane