Gracelyn Smallwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gracelyn Smallwood
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Gracelyn Smallwood c. 1975
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| Born | 1951 |
| Alma mater | James Cook University |
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Notable work
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Condoman |
Gracelyn Smallwood (born 1951) is a professor, a registered nurse, and a midwife (a nurse who helps with childbirth). She is a proud Aboriginal Australian woman from the Biri community. For many years, she has worked to improve the health and lives of others.
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Early Life and Education
Gracelyn Smallwood was born in 1951 in Townsville, a city in Queensland, Australia. Growing up, she decided to pursue a career in healthcare to help people.
She trained to become a nurse at the Townsville Hospital. She studied general nursing, midwifery, and psychiatric nursing, which focuses on mental health.
Smallwood continued her studies at James Cook University. She became the first Indigenous Australian to earn a Master of Science degree in public health. Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.
A Career of Helping Others
Since 1968, Gracelyn Smallwood has been an advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. An advocate is someone who publicly supports an important cause or group of people.
Fighting a Global Health Crisis
In the 1980s, a serious disease called HIV/AIDS was spreading around the world. In 1987, Smallwood was chosen to be part of a national group to advise the government on this health issue.
She was given a grant to create a health education program for Indigenous Australians. To make the information engaging, she created a superhero character named Condoman. The Condoman campaign was a creative and successful way to teach people how to stay healthy and prevent the spread of the disease.
Her work was noticed internationally. In 1988, the World Health Organization invited her to London to speak about her successful campaign. She also traveled to the United States to share her knowledge on health education with African American and Native American communities.
A Leader in Her Field
In 2016, Smallwood became a Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Central Queensland University. This is a high-ranking position at a university that recognizes her expertise and contributions.
In 2020, she was chosen to be part of the National Co-design Group for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This group worked on ideas for how Indigenous Australians could have a say in the laws and policies that affect their lives.
Awards and Recognition
Gracelyn Smallwood has received many awards for her incredible work. Some of them include:
- Queensland Aboriginal of the Year in 1986
- An international award for preventing child abuse and neglect in 1994
- A Deadly Award for Lifetime Achievement in Indigenous Health in 2007
- NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2014
- Member of the Order of Australia in 1992. This is one of Australia's highest honors, given to her for her work in public health and for helping Indigenous communities.
