The Victorian government has announced Aunty Fay Carter OAM will have her life honoured with a state funeral on Dja Dja Wurrung country in Bendigo next week.
Aunty Fay, a tireless advocate for Indigenous communities in Victoria, recently passed away at the age of 89.
The government announced on Thursday she would be given a state funeral on Wednesday, June 12, with Premier Jacinta Allan saying: "To me, the word that epitomises Aunty Fay is generosity. She was so overwhelmingly generous – with her time, her wisdom, and her work."
"We wouldn't have the Victoria we do, without her."
The Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (Djaara) said Aunty Fay "contributed immensely to the self-determination of Dja Dja Wurrung People through our Recognition and Settlement Agreement journey over more than 15 years".
At the request of the Carter family, and in lieu of flowers, tributes may be made in the form of a contribution to the Aboriginal Community Elders Services online.
Aunty Fay was a member of the Victorian Branch of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) for over twenty years, including three years as Treasurer and five years as President.
She was also a founding member of Australia's first Aboriginal women's refuge and served as Chair of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) for 10 years.
"For over 50 years, Aunty Fay dedicated herself to her Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta People and all Victorian Aboriginal communities. In the proud tradition of self-determination, her work has helped strengthen families, reform welfare programs, and set the standard for Aboriginal aged-care services," Djaara said.
In her late 70s, she was part of 18 months of intense negotiations to achieve a landmark native title settlement, formally recognising the Dja Dja Wurrung People as the Traditional Owners of their lands.
That settlement included the handing back of more than 266,000 hectares of Crown land to the Traditional Owners.
Aunty Fay was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001, inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2004 and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll in 2013.
In 2019, she received the Order of Australia for her commitment to the development and implementation of culturally relevant programs for Indigenous people.
She is fondly known by many as Guka (meaning grandmother) and is survived by her children, Rodney and Wendy, and grandchildren, Drew, Joshua, Natasha, Neane, Rodney Jnr and James.
The funeral will be open to the public and live streamed, beginning at 10 am. Further details about the service can be found online.
