Most Australians who knew Rosalie Kunoth-Monks remember her for her leading role in Australia’s first colour feature film, Jedda.
However, people from the Barkly and throughout the Territory remember her as a warm and caring woman; and a passionate, unrelenting advocate for her country and her people.
This remarkable Anmatjere-Arrernte woman from the Utopia Homelands died on Wednesday, aged 85.
Rosalie was a teenager at St Mary’s Hostel when she was chosen to star in Charles Chauvel’s Jedda, but her shining had just begun.
She went on to become a nun in Victoria and married Bill Monks after she left the order then, after a stint in the public service, returned to the Northern Territory where she continued to work for the betterment of Aboriginal people.
A staunch defender of her traditional ways and cultural rights, and a vocal denouncer of assimilation, Rosalie worked in the social justice field for many years, fighting for better health, housing and education outcomes for her people. She escalated her role as an activist and advocate during the NT Intervention.
When the Northern Territory Government overhauled its Local Government structure in 2008, Rosalie was honoured to be the Barkly Shire’s first ever president.
The recipient of many awards including a prestigious OAM, Rosalie was named the NAIDOC Person of the Year and NT Australian of the Year in 2015.
Like many of those who step outside the circle, Rosalie had her critics.
But these were vastly outnumbered by those who adored and admired her, and respected her humanitarian efforts.
Rosalie died in Alice Springs Hospital after being medevacced from Utopia.
She is survived by her daughter Ngarla, granddaughters Amelia and Ruby, and the many children she cared for over decades.
A Barkly legend and a national treasure now rests in peace.
Vale Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM.
This article appeared in the Tennant & District Times, 28 January 2022.