Dan Ryan with Kiera Jenkins/AAP
An Elder known for her steadfast resolve and ceaseless pursuit of Aboriginal rights and empowerment has been recongised in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Aunty Mille Ingram, was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the Indigenous community of NSW, along with 123 other Australians.
Aunty Ingram's journey from Erambie Mission to advising Ministers and Magistrates across the state was not an easy one, where she said every aspect of her life was controlled.
So when she challenged an unfair dismissal at the chocolate factory where she worked in the 1950's, Ms Ingram surprised herself, and began a pursuit of justice and fair treatment for herself and others.
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"Coming off a mission under the control of mission managers, that wasn't the done thing," the Wiradjuri woman told AAP.
"I stood up for myself and I won."
Shortly after, Ms Ingram made the move to Redfern to find work, spending her nights studying and her days working in factories and advocating for Aboriginal people across the state.
"I've had a lot of experience," Ms Ingram said.
"But my main experience is being Aboriginal ... I was surrounded by wonderful people, not only my own family, and particularly all the matriarchal people."
For more than fifty years, Aunty Millie Ingram helped spearhead initiatives, including co-founding the Murawina, meaning ‘black woman’, a childcare centre run by and for Aboriginal people.
The program began to provide breakfast to children living in Redfern and Newtown, but by the late 1970s, saw a fully-fledged child care service with purpose-built accommodation and links to the mainstream education system established.
The Mac Silva Centre, a homeless shelter for Aboriginal men and TAFE NSW Eora Centre were also co-founded by Ms Ingram along with the Jawun Program, leading to her appointment as a Board Member of the Inner City Empowered Communities (formerly Redfern Alliance.)
During the campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Aunty Millie Ingram tirelessly called for a formal recognition of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in Parliament, supporting her work as a government advisor to committees on corrective services, ageing and the Keeping Them Home Project.
But the "jewel in the crown" for her is the establishment of the Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care program, which supports local Elders, which provides culturally safe and tailored home care services to help Elders live independently and remain connected to community and culture.
At 85, and an Elder herself, Ms Ingram remains on the program's board and doubts she'll ever stop working.
An appointment as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for significant service to the Indigenous community of NSW in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours List, spurs her on even more.
"If this gives me a voice and a platform that I can keep advocating for us to become a better Australia, that's what I'll do," Ms Ingram said.
