Bill_Dunn_(Pilbara_elder)
Bill Dunn (Pilbara elder)
Indigenous Australian pastoralist
William Dunn OAM (born 1911) was an Indigenous Australian pastoralist and elder from the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA).
Dunn was the first Aboriginal person to be granted a cattle station lease in WA.[1] His experience has been drawn upon by historians as an account of Aboriginal Australian experience in the 20th century, especially around the Pilbara.[2] In his later years, he was an elder of the Jigalong community.[1]
Dunn's role as a pastoralist was unusual at the time for an Indigenous Australian, an issue caused by systemic racism and legal discriminations. This included his status as an experienced stock manager in the Marble Bar area, and his obtaining of a pastoral lease in the 1960s. He was also directly involved in the landmark 1946 Pilbara strike.[3][4]
Dunn was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to the community, particularly the Aboriginal community."[5] His biography was written by Graham Wilson and published in 1989.[1]