The University of New England and the Oorala Aboriginal Centre send our condolences to the family and friends of Dr Dianne Roberts who passed away in Armidale last week.

Dr Roberts, a Thunghutti woman of the Dhungutti nations and originally from Bellbrook NSW, completed a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education at UNE and has published on diverse topics such as participatory action research and Indigenous Leadership in Early Childhood Education. She has devoted most her life to the education of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, beginning with her association with Minimbah School as a volunteer mother in 1971.

In 2017 she became one of the first Aboriginal People to receive an honorary doctorate from UNE (the other was Professor Jack Beetson) in recognition of her dedication to education. (Feature image).

Opening of Oorala Centre, Prof C. Hawkins, Mrs Dianne Roberts, Director, Minimbah Pre-School, 2 February 1992 (photographer Chris Barnden)

Over the course of her career Dr Roberts served as cleaner, bus driver, education assistant and teacher before becoming Director of Minimbah Pre-School in 1987 and Principal of the primary school in 1997 – a position she held until 2013. 

Under her leadership Minimbah, which means “place of learning”, developed into a successful educational institution, which offers a culturally supportive learning environment for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, with a strong focus on Aboriginal culture. With Dr Roberts at the helm, Minimbah Aboriginal Preschool expanded to include a Primary School, growing from four staff and 25 students to a dynamic institution under Indigenous leadership with 10 staff and more than 100 students.

 In 1984 Dr Roberts was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in recognition of her dedication to Aboriginal children’s education. She has also received the NAIDOC Award for Education Initiatives, the NSW Children’s Services Award, and the Government of NSW Citizens Award. She served on various committees associated with the Department of Community Services, the State Education Policy Committee, and the State Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Advisory Group.

 In 2009, Dr Roberts presented UNE’s Archibald Memorial Lecture entitled The challenge for educational research: educating for creativity and difference, drawing on the experience of Minimbah School in encouraging the richness of cultural diversity within the first years of early education.

She continued her close association with the Oorala Aboriginal Centre and UNE more broadly by most recently supporting Oorala’s camps for Aboriginal high schools students.