Sally Morgan is a renowned Aboriginal artist and author of the award-winning My Place.
Background
Ethnicity:
As a child, Morgan became aware that she was different from other children at her school, because of her non-white physical appearance, and was frequently questioned by other students about her family background. She understood from her mother that her ancestors were from India. However, when Morgan was 15, she learnt that she and her sister were in fact of Aboriginal descent, from the Palku (or Bailgu) people of the Pilba.
Curious about her background, she began investigating her family's history, and discovered she had relatives at the Corunna Downs station in Western Australia's Pilbara district.
Education
She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Western Australia in 1974, followed by postgraduate diplomas in counselling, computing and librarianship at the Curtin Institute of Technology in Perth.
Career
In 1987 Morgan became a national celebrity with the release of her autobiography, My Place, which charts her discovery of her Aboriginality and outlines her family history. The book won the inaugural Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission humanitarian award in 1987 and the Western Australia Week literary award for non-fiction in 1988. She subsequently published several books.
Sally Morgan is also a nationally recognised artist, and has held numerous exhibitions. Her paintings can be found in major collections including the Robert Holmes a Court collection, the Dobell Foundation and the Australian National Gallery. She was awarded a Medal of Australia in 1990.
