Cilla Atkinson

The courage of a few




This story was first published in the Aboriginal Art Directory.

In 1987 the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was announced. I was a young lawyer that had just started work at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS).

In those days it occupied a dilapidated terrace house at the top of Brunswick street. Phil Cooper had just taken over as Executive Director. The Board included Alf Bamblett and John Gorrie.