Geraldine Briggs was born on Warangesda Mission in New South Wales. As a child she lived at Cummeragunga, on the Murray River. Her sister is Margaret Tucker MBE. Briggs was six years old when two of her sisters were taken by the police to Cootamundra Girls' Home; her family was traumatised by this event and Briggs didn't get to see them again until she was an adult. After Briggs married, she lived on Cummeragunja Reserve and had a son. Her son got very sick and died at the age of three because of inadequate health care and a neglectful doctor.
When she was 82 years of age, Geraldine won the Aboriginal of the Year Award. She was the founding member and past president of the National Council of Aboriginal and Islander Women. She had an outstanding record of service to her people and was at one time State secretary and a member of the Federal Council for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCATSI). She was also a founding member of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, in Fitzroy. In addition to these achievements, she was also a founding member of the Noondanah Girls' Hostel and a member of the Yorta Yorta Advancement Group. (Source: Koori Mail issue 29 1992).
