Today is Australia Day, which celebrates the arrival of the first British convicts in Sydney in 1788. To celebrate the folks who were already there, Booker Rising highlights an Aussie bookerista of Aborigine origin. Elected in 2010, MP Wyatt is the first self-identified Aborigine elected to Australia's House of Representatives. A member of the center-right Liberal Party (think classical liberalism here), The 59-year-old represents the swing-vote Hasluck division in Western Australia.
MP Wyatt is of Aborigine, East Indian, English and Irish descent, but both of his parents are of Aborigine descent. His mother was one of the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their parents, in the white-controlled government's attempt to "assimilate" Aborigines into Australia's Westernized culture.
Prior to joining Parliament, MP Wyatt directed the Western Australia Office of Aboriginal Health and was the Director of Aboriginal Education for the Western Australia Department of Education. After his historic victory, MP Wyatt received hate mail from some white conservatives who said that they would've never voted for him had they known that he was black. He was called "Uncle Tom Wyatt" by some liberals (sound familiar?).
National honors that MP Wyatt has received include the Order of Australia for services to Aboriginal health and the Centenary Medal for his contributions to his country.
1/26 BOOKERISTA PROFILE: Ken Wyatt, Australia
