The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Eleanor Bourke, née Anderson, formerly Koumalatsos
Married to Colin Bourke Two children: Sia and Kelly
Descendant of the Wergaia and Wamba Wamba people of western Victoria.
Eleanor and her family moved to Murraydale, near Swan Hill, Victoria in 1945. She attended primary and high school in rural Victoria.
Education; Dip Arts Journalism (RMIT), BA Writing (CCAE), MEdStud (Adelaide) currently PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide.
Eleanor’s paid work includes policy concerning Aboriginal people in both the Victorian and Commonwealth governments and academia.
Positions held include: Associate Professor in Indigenous Affairs and the Director of the Aboriginal Research Institute, Faculty of the Aboriginal and Islander Studies, University of South Australia.
Member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Family Law Council and the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee. Fellow of the Australian College of Education.
Her membership of community-based organisations include the Victorian Aboriginal Advancement League, the Victorian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and Camp Jungai Cooperative Ltd.

(Sources: Aboriginal Women by Degrees Mary Ann Bin-Sallik, Ed. University of Queensland Press, Queensland, 2000.)

[NB: the above biography was researched and written by Mary Sexton]

Events

• 2010

  Inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women