Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth Snr, a Budjiti / Murrawari Elder, is one of 11 children in a creative and artistic family. His wife, children and grand children and family are all artists, painters, dancers and rainmakers. After collecting indigenous stories for over 50 years, Bruce began to paint on canvas and glass.
Uncle Bruce’s family and land is in north-west NSW – the Namoi, Barwon and Darling Rivers. Towns in the area include Brewarrina, Bourke, Enngonia, Wilcannia and Walgett. These north-west river communities have been devastated by water diversion by big cotton farmers and irrigators.
Bruce is a cultural educator in Sydney and leads a cultural revival dance group in the north-west. His diverse career and vocation included educating young people for Barnardo’s, Scouts Australia and NSW Education about responsibility to be in our history and living sensibly and sustainably.
Bruce Shillingsworth lives in Redfern in Sydney and regularly works in Brewarrina teaching indigenous kids about coping with racism, and avoiding prison and alcohol. Uncle Bruce often brings groups of children and youth to Sydney for safe excursions to help them adjust to city life. He is a community youth worker and runs the local youth centre.
His vision is that indigenous and non-indigenous Australians will walk together and see our collective national identities and concerns.
Bruce Shillingsworth Snr. designed The Kings 2021 Indigenous jersey.
An artwork by Kymeesha Shillingsworth, 9, and her grandfather Bruce Shillingsworth Snr featured on the Sydney Kings jersey for the NBL’s 2021 Indigenous Round
The Sydney Kings are an Australian men’s professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. Uncle Bruce spoke to the playing group about reconciliation and the story behind the jerseys that the players will be wearing.
Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth presents the Sydney Kings their 2020/21 NBL Indigenous Round jersey.
FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022: Australian Opals Indigenous jerseys
The Australian women’s national basketball team wore an Indigenous uniform at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup designed by artist Daniel O’Shane, a Kuku Yalanji, Kulkagal and Erub Mer man. The design represents shared values of First Nations people, the Opals and the Australian nation.
The Seven Consulting Opals team were presented with the uniform in a moving ceremony at Cathy Freeman Park. Budjiti / Murrawari Elder Bruce Shillingsworth acknowledged the traditional owners and offered a blessing to the team before presenting them with their singlet.
Opals Captain Tess Madgen receiving her uniform from Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth.
Image: Basketball Australia.
Head Coach Sandy Brondello reflected on Bruce Shillingsworth’s message about community and heritage.
“It resonated with all of us that being here today is about connecting to community and being respectful of the land upon which we are playing. We are all honoured to be playing basketball for our country and playing in an Indigenous designed green home uniform will be something special,” said Brondello.
Note: It was Netball Australia, not Basketball Australia, who were at the centre of controversy regarding a sponsorship deal with Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting
Bruce Shillingsworth is a well known activist
Bruce Shillingsworth at Extinction Rebellion protest
This is how 1EarthMedia met Uncle Bruce – at the Extinction Rebellion protest 7 October 2019.
Water, Profit and First Nation Rights to Water – Bruce Shillingsworth | Q&A
Bruce Shillingsworth calls for Australia to wake up, and stop profiting on water on ABC’s Q&A program.
Old Parliament House protester Bruce Shillingsworth snr has trespassing charge dismissed
August 5 2022 – Bruce Shillingsworth Senior, arrested for trespassing on the day there was a fire at Old Parliament House, had his charge dropped in the ACT Magistrates Court.
“Moving Too Slow”: Bruce Shillingsworth on the COVID Response in First Nations Towns
Muruwari and Budjiti man Bruce Shillingsworth is one of those organising the First Nations Emergency Management Committee (FNEMC). Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke to the prominent water for rivers activist about what’s transpiring in western NSW, the slow drip vaccine rollout in these communities and why the FNEMC is needed.
Bruce Shillingsworth discusses moving forward in Australia
Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival 2019.
Yaama Ngunna Baaka – Welcome to our Rivers. Yaama means ‘welcome’, Ngunna means ‘us’ and Baaka meaning ‘our rivers’ — ‘Welcome to our rivers’.
Here is the Wikipedia page about Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival 2019
Bruce’s family and land is in north-west NSW – the Namoi, Barwon and Darling Rivers. These north-west river communities, including Brewarrina, Bourke, Enngonia, Wilcannia and Walget, have been devastated by water diversion by big cotton farmers and irrigators further upstream.
One cotton farm in Queensland, Cubbie Station, is licensed to take 460 Billion litres of water from the Darling River system every year. That’s equivalent to all irrigation entitlements downstream in north-western NSW or all the water in Sydney Harbour.
The world famous Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps are heritage-listed fish traps made of stones on the Barwon River at Brewarrina. They are also known as Baiame’s Ngunnhu, Nonah, or Nyemba Fish Traps. These fish traps may be the oldest human construction in the world.
Bruce Shillingsworth – 2019 Corroboree Project – Yaama Ngunna Barka (Welcome to our River)
By Rory McLeod, Filmmaker – 28 March 2019
“I’m here calling for our people out there, First Nations People, to come together in supporting us here in Brewarrina. To get the water back in the river, to let our rivers run freely.
We need ceremonies, we need dancers, we need rainmakers to make it rain, we need special lawman, to sing the land, to talk to the spirit. We need our stories and our knowledge to be told again.
We need to heal our country through the spirit. Call on Biami our great spirit.”
Bruce Shillingsworth 2019
Interview with Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth wearing YAAMA NGUNNA BAAKA tee shirt for the Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival 2019. Interview with Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth – Art n Up
The Water For The Rivers campaign in the Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival went through several remote river communities in western NSW from September 28 to October 4, 2019. Bruce Shillingsworth explained:
“Yaama means ‘welcome’, Ngunna means ‘us’ and Baaka meaning ‘our rivers’ — ‘Welcome to our rivers’.
The concept of the Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival is a radical combination of a cultural festival, exposure tour and a grand series of community gatherings that helps link up country and city folk, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people”
“We are going to hit the river towns of Walgett, Brewarrina, Bourke, Wilcannia and Menindee. We’re organising the biggest gathering they have ever seen.
“In the evenings we will hold a huge corroboree, in way First Nations people have done for thousands of years.
“We’ll sing the land, sing the river and gather our people. This will empower our communities.
“Any real solution to the crisis in the Murray-Darling river system has to involve First Nations people who know the rivers”
“Over the last 230 years, non-Indigenous people have tried to fix our rivers, but look at what they have done: it has got worse.”
“We need to fix our environment, bring those natural cycles back, especially the water cycle. We need water to fill the creeks, the billabongs and lakes. We need to start putting plants back in the ground, put them back like Mother Nature did.”
“It is Mother Earth or Mother Nature that we are all worried about. And we only have one planet. There is no Planet B.”
Bruce Shillingsworth
Yaama (Ngemba language – Brewarrina), Ngunna (Budjiti, Muruwari language – Enngonia and Weilmoringle), Barka (Barkangi language – Wilcannia)
‘The Corroboree’
‘The Corroboree’ is a dot painting on glass by Bruce Shillingsworth painted to tell the story of the coming together for the Yaama Ngunna Baaka Corroboree Festival 2019
“All these paintings relate to the river. They tell river stories including my mum’s story of how our people lived on the land for thousands and thousands of years.
“These painting also get out a message about how we can fix the rivers.”
Bruce Shillingsworth
Shillingsworth Art Collective
Shillingsworth Art Collective is a family affair – 3 Generations of Artists: Ularoi, Wailwan, Murawarri and Budjiti people. Their artwork can be seen on Facebook. and on Instagram.
Artwork by Serika Shillingsworth
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