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Ernie Hoolihan with his wife, Maud, at a ceremony to award an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by James Cook University. |
Honour awarded for life of struggle
Issue 194 - 05 Feb 2010
By Geoff Bagnall
ISSUE 194, February 4, 2010: After a lifetime of working for the rights and welfare of Indigenous people in North Queensland, Townsville resident Ernie Hoolihan has been recognised with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from James Cook University.
Mr Hoolihan, 77, was involved in starting many Aboriginal organisations in North Queensland.
He helped start the Legal Service, the Medical Service and Housing Service, and he was involved in education and prison visits for Indigenous inmates.
Mr Hoolihan had been visiting prisons as part of his work with the then Department of Social Security. After he left the department he continued his visits, becoming the first person to be given the role of 'Official Visitor' and later became an advocate for prisoners.
Mr Hoolihan is particularly proud of his role in starting the Housing Service. "Aboriginal people couldn't get houses in private rental, or if they could they were substandard, but often they were refused", he said. He remembers the Bjelke-Petersen years being pretty tough for Aboriginal people, and "it was when Whitlam was elected and Charles Perkins became head of Aboriginal Affairs that we could apply for grants to buy houses. The Housing Association gave people good houses", he said.
The Housing Association that Ernie Hoolihan started began with eight houses. Now there are 56 houses, two sets of flats and five units for the elderly.
Proving that you can't keep a good idea down, the Housing Association is about to start building 16 more units for the elderly at Innes Estate, about 10kms north of Townsville.
Mr Hoolihan came to his activism early. He remembers his grandfather telling him that if he found something was wrong, and he could do something about it, he should try and make it better.
Mr Hoolihan's father, Dick, was president of the Townsville branch of the Aborigines Advancement League, and Eddie Mabo was the secretary.
"I went to some of the meetings and things sort of went from there", Mr Hoolihan remembers. "I was the first secretary of the Townsville OPAL (One People of Australia League). Neville Bonner wanted us to set up a branch up here in North Queensland, but it never went very far".
Mr Hoolihan suffered the tragedy of losing his wife, Maud, to a sudden illness only two weeks after receiving his Doctorate.
"She supported me all the way and was very proud of me when I got it. She didn't live long, she passed away only a fortnight after I got it."
"She was on all the boards with me, and got all her friends along. She went around getting all the signatures when we were trying to get the medical centre up, Mr Hoolihan said.
"She was always running around, while I was at work, signing people up, and organising meetings and things."
Mr Hoolihan considers his award from James Cook University a "great honour", and believes he was given the award "for making a difference to North Queensland".
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