Helen Milroy Explained

Helen Milroy is a consultant psychiatrist with the Western Australia Department of Health, specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, and director of the Western Australian Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health.^[1] She is recognised as the first Indigenous Australian to become a medical doctor.^[2] She is also a storyteller who has written three books for children.

Biography

Helen Milroy was born in Perth, and traces her ancestral lineage to the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Milroy studied medicine at the University of Western Australia,^[3] becoming the country's first Indigenous medical doctor in 1983.^[2] Milroy was later appointed as professor of child and adolescent psychiatry.^[3]

Her sisters are artist and author Sally Morgan and professor Jill Milroy.^{[4] [5]}

In 2013, Milroy was appointed as a commissioner to the Australian Government's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.^[6]

In 2018, Milroy was appointed as the first Indigenous commissioner to the Australian Football League.^[7]

Awards

In 2011, Milroy was awarded the "Sigmund Freud Award" by the World Congress of Psychiatry in recognition for her contributions as an Indigenous health professional.^[8] In 2018, Milroy was the recipient of the 2018 Australian Indigenous Doctor of the Year Award by the Australian Indigenous Doctor's Association (AIDA).^[9] She was named Western Australian of the Year in 2021.^[10]

Milroy was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 Australia Day Honours.^[11]

Books

• Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories (Fremantle Press, 2019) – 2020 Western Australian Premier's Book Award (shortlisted)^{[12] [13]}
• Backyard Birds (Fremantle Press, 2020)
• Tales from the Bush Mob (Magabala Books, 2020)
• Willy-Willy Wagtail: Tales from the Bush Mob (Magabala Books, 2020)
• Backyard Bugs (Fremantle Press, 2021)
• The Emu Who Ran Through the Sky (Magabala Books, 2021)
• Backyard Beasties (Fremantle Press, 2022)
• The Sweetest Egg of All (Magabala Books, 2022)
• Owl and Star (Fremantle Press, 2022)
• Bush Mob Counting (Magabala Books, 2022)
• Bush Birds (Fremantle Press, 2023)
• The Cockatoo Wars (Magabala Books, 2023)

Notes and References

1. Web site: W/Prof Helen Milroy. The University of Western Australia - UWA Staff Profile. 12 January 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130102111454/http://www.uwa.edu.au/people/helen.milroy. 2 January 2013. dmy-all.
2. The Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association, p. 4.
3. Web site: Backyard Birds (Helen Milroy, Fremantle Press) | Books+Publishing.
4. Web site: Gladys Milroy: author of Dingo's Tree. . 4 July 2017. 27 February 2020.
5. Web site: Sally Morgan: author of My Place. . 20 May 2019. 27 February 2020.
6. Web site: Commissioner Helen Milroy. July 20, 2017. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
7. Web site: League appoints first indigenous commissioner. www.afl.com.au.
8. Web site: Media release on World Congress for Psychotherapy. August 22, 2011.
9. Web site: AIDA Awards. Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association.
10. Web site: 2021-01-15. Meet the 2021 Australian of the Year finalists. 2021-01-17. ABC News. en-AU.
11. Web site: 2023-01-25 . Australia Day 2023 Honours: Full list . 2023-01-25 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
12. Web site: 2021-06-18 . WA Premier's Book Awards shortlists announced . 2021-07-26 . Books+Publishing . en-AU.
13. Web site: Western Australian Premier's Book Awards shortlists announced. 29 July 2020. 25 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222835/https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2020/06/Western-Australian-Premiers-Book-Awards-shortlists-announced.aspx. dead.