In 2019, M&G NSW’s IMAGinE Awards acknowledged the Outstanding Contribution to NSW Aboriginal Culture, Heritage and Arts by an Elder

ACHAA Award for Outstanding Contribution to NSW Aboriginal arts, culture & heritage

Hubert ‘Laddie’ Timbery (1924-2019)

Uncle Laddie Timbery, a Yuin and Dharawal Elder of the Bidjigal clan, was the founder of Laddie Timbery’s Aboriginal Arts and Crafts Gallery at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum. He spent a lifetime sharing Aboriginal arts, culture and heritage with the Aboriginal Community, the education sector, and the museum and arts sector through his on-site work at the Museum and further afield.

Uncle Laddie provided access to story-telling, authentic art and artefacts, bush food and medicine walks, boomerang making and throwing, all forming the basis of cultural tourism experiences, which in turn led to deeper knowledge and understanding of traditional Aboriginal culture, including the sense of country and place. His contributions were marked by his open and warm nature making him a natural ambassador for culture in the local community, throughout New South Wales, interstate and internationally.

“Uncle Laddie’s dedication to traditional craft will be remembered by the generations to follow him. Uncle Laddie Timbery spent his life perfecting the craftsmanship of his ancestors and keeping it alive and growing. He leaves a legacy of traditional skills and beautiful work and his generosity to communities in La Perouse and on the New South Wales south coast and beyond will always be remembered.” – Anne Dennis, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council Chai

Uncle Laddie Timbery is pictured.

Other 2019 Nominees

Djon Mundine OAM