Eve Fesl facts for kids

Eve Mumewa Doreen Fesl is a very important Indigenous Australian academic. She was born Evelyn Serico in 1930 or 1931. She is famous for being the first Indigenous Australian to earn a PhD (a very high university degree) from an Australian university. This happened in 1989.

Eve Fesl belongs to two Aboriginal nations: the Gubbi Gubbi (from her mother's side) and the Gungulu (from her father's side). Today, she teaches at the Queensland University of Technology. She works in a special unit there called the Oodgeroo Unit.

Early Life and Learning

Evelyn Serico was the first child of Maurice and Evelyn Reen Serico. Her mother, Evelyn Reen, was a Gubbi Gubbi person. Her father, Maurice, was from the Gungulu nation. Eve also has a younger brother.

Her mother was forced to move to a place called Barambah Aboriginal Reserve. This happened because of old laws that separated Aboriginal families. The reserve is now known as Cherbourg. Eve grew up on this reserve.

An English person visited the reserve and brought books. This inspired Eve's mother to want a good education for her children. So, she moved her family to Brisbane to make sure they could go to good schools.

School Days and Challenges

After moving to Brisbane, Eve Fesl faced racism at Ashgrove State School. To show she was just as good, she started doing athletics. She wanted to prove she could beat her classmates in sports.

Later, she learned the German language. She was the best in the state for German in her final high school exams. However, she did not pass English. Her excellent German score helped her get into Monash University. There, she studied linguistics, which is the study of language.

She continued her studies and earned several degrees. In 1989, she completed her PhD. For her PhD, she studied and wrote about her mother's native language, the Gubbi Gubbi language.

Sporting Achievements

Eve Fesl was also a talented athlete. She was a champion discus thrower in both Victoria and Queensland.

When she was young, she was good at many track and field sports. She ran, threw, and jumped in competitions. She competed for Kelvin Grove in Queensland athletics. In 1956, she moved to Melbourne. She hoped to join the Australian Olympic team. She threw the discus 116 feet and 3 inches. This was the fifth-best throw in the qualifying event on October 13, 1956.

Awards and Recognition

Eve Fesl has received many important awards for her work. In 1986, she was named "Scholar of the Year" at the NAIDOC Awards. These awards celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In 1988, she was given the Member of the Order of Australia award. This is a very high honor in Australia. She also received a Centenary Medal in 2001.

After her mother passed away in 2005, Eve Fesl became the main spokesperson for the Gubbi Gubbi people. This means she speaks on behalf of her community.

In December 2016, she received an award from the United Nations Association of Australia. This award recognized her important community work and past achievements.