Graham Atkinson a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung man was born and raised in Echuca, at the junction of the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe Rivers. At the age of fifteen, Graham left school to help support his family, and after a five year apprenticeship he completed his trade certificate as a fitter and turner.
When he was twenty Graham was conscripted into the Army, where he spent two years doing national service, and then served in Vietnam as a craftsman, in the Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. His tour of duty was from the November 1969 to August 1970. In Vietnam he witnessed the destruction of a society and the brutality of war, first hand. Upon Atkinson's return to Australia, his newly found understanding of racism and political awareness motivated him to pursue further education and employment within Aboriginal Affairs.
When he was discharged from the army, he applied through the Aboriginal Study Grant to do his matriculation as a mature age student in Melbourne, after graduating from the course he entered the Melbourne University to study for a Bachelor of Social Work. During this time he worked in administrative position, eventually becoming a liaison officer with the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. A further career change saw Graham win the job of senior social worker at the newly-established Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, then become Program Director of the organisation. In the early 1980's he joined the Aboriginal Development Commission, and again decided to further his education.Taking almost nine years, he completed his Master of Business Administration course, and became the first Indigenous MBA graduate in Australia, and proceeded to establish his own consultancy business.
While the consultancy continues to prosper, Graham is also Chair of Native Title Services Victoria, an organisation which represents and advises Indigenous groups making claims for recognition of native title in Victoria. As a Yorta Yorta man, he was involved with the first native title claim in Victoria. (Source: Australian War Memorial website http://www.vietnamroll.gov.au and National Indigenous Time website http://www.nit.com.au)
