Ruby Langford Ginibi (26 January 1934 – 1 October 2011) was an acclaimed
Bundjalung author, historian and lecturer on Aboriginal history, culture and politics.
Names
According to Langford's memoir, ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'', her parents married in September 1934, eight months after her birth, and she was originally named Ruby Maude Anderson. Langford was her husband's surname, and Ginibi is a
Bundjalung honorific.
Life and career
Born at the Box Ridge
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
,
Coraki on
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
's northern coast, Langford was raised at
Bonalbo
Bonalbo, a rural village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, is located north of Sydney central business district, Sydney. In the , Bonalbo and the surrounding area had a population of 371. The town's name derives from ...
and attended high school in
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
. At 15, she moved to
Sydney where she qualified as a clothing machinist. She had nine children by various relationships, but only legally married once, to Peter Langford, whose surname she took as her own. Three of Langford's children predeceased her. Graphic designer
Nikita Ridgeway
Nikita Ridgeway (born 1986) is a Bundjalung/Biripi tattoo artist and graphic designer from Australia, who was awarded the a BBC 100 Women Award in 2015 in recognition of her entrepreneurial work and advocacy for Aboriginal graphic design.
Biogr ...
is one of her grandchildren.
Her best-known book was the autobiographical ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'', published in 1988, which won the Australian
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but oper ...
Human Rights Award for Literature.
She wrote non-fiction books, essays, poems and short stories.
Death
Langford had been suffering kidney problems and high blood pressure before her death at Fairfield Hospital, Sydney, aged 77, on 1 October 2011.
Recognition
She received an inaugural History Fellowship from the NSW Ministry for the Arts in 1994, an inaugural honorary fellowship from the
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
,
Canberra, in 1995, and an inaugural doctorate of letters (Honors Causia) from
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in 1998.
In 2005 she was awarded the
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...
Special Award. Her works are studied in Australian high schools and universities. In 2006, she won the
Australia Council for the Arts Writers' Emeritus Award. She received the award with its prize of $50,000 at a ceremony during the Sydney Writers' Festival.
The award recognises the achievements of writers over the age of 65. In 2008, Ginibi was a Don't DIS my ABILITY ambassador.
In 2020, a
river-class ferry
The River Class is a ferry type operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour.
History
In September 2017, Transport for NSW called for expressions of interest for four new ferries for Parramatta River ferry services. However, after the ...
on the
Sydney Ferries network was named in her honour.
Bibliography
* ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'' (Penguin, 1988);
* ''Real Deadly'' (Angus & Robertson, 1992);
* ''My Bundjalung People'' (UQP, 1994);
* ''Haunted by the Past'' (Allen & Unwin, 1999);
* ''All My Mob'' (UQP, 2007);
* ''A Journey into Bundjalung Country'', with Pam Johnston
* ''Ruby Langford Ginibi'', co-authored with
John Barnes and Blanca Fullana
References
External links
*
Approaches to ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'' Australian Women's Studies Resources
"Remembering Ruby: ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'' again" ''MC Review'', accessed 15 July 2007.
Sydney Writer's Festival News Issue #1 (2005)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford Ginibi, Ruby
1934 births
2011 deaths
20th-century Australian novelists
Australian historians
Australian women historians
Australian memoirists
Australian women novelists
Historians of Australia
Indigenous Australian writers
Writers from New South Wales
Bundjalung people
Australian women memoirists
20th-century Australian women writers