During her childhood, Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG was told that she would never amount to anything. She went on to be described as “the greatest Aboriginal leader of the modern era.” 

Dr O’Donoghue, a Yankunytjatjara woman, passed away peacefully on Kaurna Country last year at the age of 91, and her life and legacy are soon to be commemorated with an exhibition in her honour. 

LOWITJA – A Life of Leadership and Legacy will feature a selection from Dr O’Donoghue’s extensive personal collection of her landmark speeches and media interviews, never before seen photographs, letters and reports spanning across her lifetime relating to the Stolen Generations, nursing and healthcare, Aboriginal affairs, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), her own significant achievements, family and Indigenous peoples. 

AW spoke with Dr O'Donoghue's niece, Deb Edwards, who heads up the Lowitja Foundation, about her incredible life and impact.