NLA image of person
Essie Coffey Essie Coffey i(A115156 works by) (birth name: Essina Nooninarni Goodjebah) (a.k.a. Bush Queen)
Born: Established: 1940 ; Died: Ceased: 1998
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Muruwari / Murrawarri
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

Essie Coffey lived for many years at 'Dodge City', an Aboriginal settlement on the outskirts of Brewarrina, New South Wales. Here Coffey was known as the 'Bush Queen', and she helped establish a number of Indigenous organisations despite never learning to read or write. Her father, Donald Shillingsworth, aka Goodjebah, was a tribal elder of the Murrawarri people. Her husband, Albert 'Doc' Coffey, came from Brewarrina Mission. She was nominated for an MBE but refused it, explaining "I knocked the MBE back because I'm not a member of the British Empire".

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

Last amended 4 Jul 2011 09:59:03
BlackWords
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X