Miriam Rose
*This date in 1950 is celebrated as the birth date of Miriam Rose. She is a Black Aboriginal Artist and Educator.
Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann was born in the bush near Daly River in 1950. She is a member of the Ngangiwumirr language group and speaks four other local languages. When she was about five years old, she was placed in the care of her aunt Nellie and uncle Attawoomba Joe, a legendary police tracker. Rose moved with her aunt and uncle to live at police stations at Adelaide River, Pine Creek, and Mataranka, where she attended government schools. While maintaining her traditional cultural education, Rose learned to "read the country" and the pages of her textbooks.
When she was about fourteen, Miriam Rose returned to Daly River and continued her education at the mission school. In 1965, she was baptized a Catholic. In 1968, she began a Teaching Assistants course at Kormilda College in Darwin and became a teacher's aide at the St. Francis Xavier mission school at Daly River. She returned to Kormilda for further study in 1971. It was during this time that she became interested in painting.
Rose developed unique imagery characterized in her acclaimed series of paintings, Australian Stations of the Cross. Her work was also recognized when she was asked to illustrate Alan Marshall's book "People of the Dreaming." As Rose's interest in painting grew, she increasingly used art to encourage children to express themselves. In 1974, the Commonwealth Government sponsored a secondment to Victoria, enabling her to work with art teachers in schools. In 1975, Rose again returned to Daly River as the Territory's first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher and, for many years, held the position of Art Consultant with the Professional Services Branch of the Northern Territory Department of Education.
During this time, she visited schools throughout the Territory to advance her commitment to including visual art in every child's education. On her return to the Daly River School in 1982, she was convinced that more Aboriginal teachers were needed to work with non-Aboriginal schoolchildren. She became deeply committed to ensuring that Aboriginal people had the opportunity to become qualified teachers and manage their schools.
Rose continues to advocate that education is a matter for the whole community and must be adapted to suit contemporary Aboriginal needs. She has shown great leadership and perseverance in meeting these objectives. For example, she encouraged other women from Daly River to study to become teachers and initiated a successful remote area teaching education program. St. Francis Xavier School was once completely staffed and managed by Aboriginal people. Her commitment to the community is demonstrated by her role in creating the Merrepin Arts Centre to foster adult education, focusing on the visual arts.
In 1988, Rose was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree by Deakin University through Batchelor College. Two years later, she began training as a school principal, and in 1993 became Principal at the St. Francis Xavier School at Daly River. She was awarded a Bachelor of Education degree in 1993 by Deakin University, and in 1999 gained her Master of Education Degree with High Distinction. Her work for this degree focused on integrating traditional and Western education for Aboriginal children and adults. In 1998, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to Aboriginal education and art and services to the Nauiyu community, having been a member of the local community council for many years, often in the role of President.
In recognition of her outstanding service and contribution to the Northern Territory, her leadership and example in Aboriginal education and the visual arts, and her contribution to the general community, Miriam Rose was awarded an honorary doctorate from Northern Territory University. On January 25, 2021, Miriam was named the Senior Australian of the Year.
To Become a School Principal
To Become an Elementary School Teacher
