The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Mangiwa Sagiba was born and raised on Goulburn Island in the Northern Territory. She grew up in the bush, speaking the Aboriginal languages and was engaged in traditional activities from an early age. She was educated at the Methodist Mission School, where she learned to speak English. When she was 21, she went to Darwin to do three years’ teachers training, and made visits to Hawaii and Fiji. Later, she attended a university course in Brisbane to learn how to read and write her own language. She became Principal of the school on Goulburn Island, which educates mainly Aboriginal children from pre-school age up to, but not including secondary school standard.