Born near the river at Old Texas Downs Station Western Australia, Queenie McKenzie was camp cook and station hand. Her mother Old Dinah (q.v.) was a Malngin/Gurindji woman. The police made several attempts to take Queenie McKenzie away but her mother rubbed her skin with charcoal and strongly defended her on separate occasions and managed to keep her daughter on the station.
While living at Texas Downs Station, Queenie became friends with Rover Thomas who is a renowned artist. Queenie McKenzie was committed to inspiring young artists to paint and to keep their culture strong, she was instrumental in establishing the first wholly owned art centre for Gija artists in the Warmun community. To ensure the continued development of future generations of Warmun artists, the Warmun Art Centre was founded in August 1998.
In 1998 Queenie McKenzie was awarded the Western Australian State Living Treasures award for her services to reconciliation, art and teaching Gija (Kija) language by the Western Australian Government.
