LHC Reconciliation Action Plan High Res Updated - Flipbook - Page 7
Aunty Joan Hendriks
Aunty Joan Hendriks was a Ngugi
woman of one of the three clan
groups of the Quandamooka
People of Moreton Bay. She was an
internationally respected Aboriginal
Elder and one of Lourdes Hill
College’s most treasured alumnae.
Aunty Joan was born in 1936 and raised
in Bulimba as the eldest of four children.
She attended St’s Peter and Paul’s
Catholic Primary School in Bulimba
before commencing at Lourdes Hill
From the 1990s, Aunty Joan delivered
Aunty Joan was appointed Elder in
lectures in Indigenous Spirituality
Residence at the College in 2010, and
and Culture Studies at the Australian
is the patron of Hendriks House. Her
Catholic University (ACU) for the
love for the College was such that she
Diploma in Indigenous Education,
described it as her “home away from
Bachelor of Education Primary
home.” Aunty Joan was an inspiration
(Indigenous Studies) and Associate
to all and instrumental in laying the
Degree in Business (Indigenous Studies).
foundations of reconciliation at the
In May 2012, Aunty Joan was awarded
College. The values of faith, hope and
ACU’s highest honour, Doctor of the
love which she nurtured will continue
University, for her contributions.
to guide us as we walk together to
continue her journey of reconciliation
and educating to make a difference.
College in 1947. As both a student, and
as a parent to three daughters who
attended Lourdes Hill, Aunty Joan
always valued the Good Samaritan
ethos that is central to the College
culture. As recently as 2019 she again
acknowledged her ‘deep gratitude’ for
the ‘wonderful’ Good Samaritan Nuns
for ‘bringing light into her life’ both
during her school days and as a parent
during the seventies.
She had a passionate concern to deepen
First Nations People’s knowledge and
pride in their own cultural traditions
as well as to educate all Australians
on reconciliation and First Nations
cultures. In her adult years, as a First
Nations Elder and educator, Aunty
Joan worked in the field of Aboriginal
education, reconciliation and justice
for First Nations Peoples.
Joan Hendriks at Lourdes Hill College, 1950
Reconciliation Action Plan 2021
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