A member of the Tanganekald group of the Ngarrindjeri people of the Coorong, Ruby Hammond grew up in the Southeast of South Australia. Her appointment as Executive Secretary to the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in 1974 marked the beginning of a lifetime of active work for justice and equality for Aboriginal people. She belonged to an impressive list of committees and professional bodies including the Department of Personnel and Industrial Relations, the National Australian Women's Consultative Council, the Aboriginal Unit assisting the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which she headed, and
the Aboriginal Housing Board, of which she was the first Chairperson.
