Gordon Briscoe

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For the fictional character Dr Gordon Briscoe played by David Tennant and John Glen, see The Quatermass Experiment.

Gordon Briscoe
Bobbi Sykes and Gordon Briscoe 1972.jpg
Briscoe with Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra, 30 July 1972
Born1938 (age 82–83)
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
NationalityAustralian
EducationBA (Hist), MA, PhD - Australian National University
OccupationResearch Fellow
EmployerAustralian National University

Gordon Briscoe AO (born 1938) is an Aboriginal Australian academic and activist. In 1997, he became the first Indigenous person to be awarded a PhD from an Australian University. He is also a former soccer player.

Early life[]

Born in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, Briscoe is descended from the and Pitjantjatjara nations of Central Australia. As a boy he was removed from his mother as a child and was educated at St Francis House in Adelaide.[1]

Activism[]

He was involved in the establishment in New South Wales of the Aboriginal Progress Association in the 1950s, the Aboriginal Legal Service in the 1960s and the Aboriginal Medical Service in 1972.[2]

Soccer[]

After playing state league for Adelaide Croatia alongside Charles Perkins and John Moriarty, Briscoe moved to England in 1958 with the hope of playing professional football. He had stints at Barnet and Preston North End (although he did not make a first team appearance), before returning to Australia at the suggestion of his former schoolmate and teammate Perkins.[3][4]

Briscoe, along with Perkins and Moriarty, later played recreational soccer with the Australian National University Soccer Club from 1968 to about 1972.[5][6][7][8]

Academia[]

In 1981, he began his academic career with the Australian National University. His focus is on Indigenous history and was involved in the production of the SBS documentary First Australians.[2]

In 1997, he became the first Indigenous person to be awarded a PhD from an Australian University.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ "People - Gordon Briscoe". Collaborating for Indigenous Rights. National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Staff Profile - John Moriarty". Australian National University. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Catalogue - Summary". National Library of Australia. 1996. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  4. ^ Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. p. 248. ISBN 0-521-80789-1.
  5. ^ "$2,000 fee on Perkins waived". The Canberra Times. 43 (12, 392). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 August 1969. p. 34. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Soccer club faces censure over Perkins". The Canberra Times. 43 (12, 349). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 June 1969. p. 18. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Perkins stunned by club's refusal to cut fee". The Canberra Times. 43 (12, 385). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 August 1969. p. 18. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "SPORTS SHORTS". Woroni. 22 (3). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 March 1970. p. 14. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Smith, Mark J. (19 April 2019). "The First Aboriginal Doctor: Gordon Briscoe" (PDF). Alice Springs News Online.

Further reading[]

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