Hayley Millar-Baker

with veteran Marjorie Anne Tripp AO

Still Life of a Ramindjeri Elder gives an insight into the accomplished life of Aunty Marjorie Tripp AO through assorted remnants that signify distinctive moments of her time.

Scattered objects strewn over a table top, uniform pieces from her two years serving as the first Aboriginal woman in the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service, a hollyhock cutting taken from the time she posed in uniform for service, whale bones a reminder of her culture and Country totem, a stack of romance novels, her treasured jewellery, a stack of silvers for punting, and a huntsman spider - an ancestor keeping watch and protecting.

The traces of Aunty Marj's life display a powerful legacy of accomplishments, a woman who demanded victory for her community, and a matriarch who battled for all.

Hayley Millar-Baker

Gunditjmara people

Wran Steward Marjorie Anne Tripp AO

Ramindjeri people

Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) - HMAS Albatross

Marjorie Tripp (1946-2016) joined the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) on 9 September 1963 aged 17. She is believed to be the first Aboriginal woman to serve in the Royal Australian Navy. Marjorie trained as a WRAN Steward at HMAS Cerberus and on 4 June 1964 she was posted to HMAS Albatross at Nowra, New South Wales. She discharged from the Navy on 13 March 1965.

Later in life, Marjorie was Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial Committee that planned and fundraised for the construction of the memorial that now stands at the corner of the Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide. For her distinguished service to the Indigenous community through promotion for improved aged care and health outcomes, and recognition of Indigenous Australians in the armed forces, Marjorie was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014.