Stephen Hagan Stephen Hagan i(A89019 works by)
Born: Established: 1959 Cunnamulla, Cunnamulla area, South West Queensland, Queensland, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Kullilli ; Aboriginal Guwamu / Kooma
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BiographyHistory

Author and activist Stephen Hagan is a descendant of the Kullilli people of south-west Queensland. His early years were spent living in a fringe camp on the outskirts of Cunnamulla but at the age of seven the family moved to the town.

Hagan was educated at the Marist Brothers College in Ashgrove, Brisbane, and began training as a teacher in 1979. Before completion, he moved to the public service to work for the Department of Foreign Affairs. During his time with the Department he was posted to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Hagan worked with Charles Perkins on issues around social justice for Aboriginal people. He also spent some time working among the destitute in Calcutta with Mother Theresa. Hagan has worked in various public service roles as well as venturing into cultural tourism in the private sector before becoming an academic and in 2006 was awarded the NAIDOC Person of the Year.

Hagan had lectured at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Queelnsland, and also became the editor of the National Indigenous Times newspaper, and wrote a regular column on Indigenous Australian issues in the Koori Mail ,the fortnightly national Indigenous newspaper, and also writes regular opinion pieces for online and print publications. Recently, Hagan with his wife Rhonda are editors for the First Nations Telegraph a free online daily news website.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2024 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Daisy Utemorrah Award for 'Acacia: 6 Eyes on Yesterday'.
2007 Inside Film Awards For Best Short Documentary, Gold Coast for Nigger Lovers.
2007 nominated ATOM Awards Australian Teachers of Media Awards For Best Short Documentary : Nigger Lovers directed by Rhonda Hagan, and produced by Daryl Sparkes and Stephen Hagan.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The N Word : One Man's Stand Broome : Magabala Books , 2005 Z1195420 2005 single work autobiography

'The N Word ' by Stephen Hagan exposes the passion and courage of the man behind the public face and reveals how a childhood growing up in a fringe camp and the town of Cunnamulla in southern Queensland, fired his determination to fight for human rights.

From his foray into bureaucracy in the early eighties as a naive young foreign affairs attache posted to Sri Lanka, through to calculated career moves as government bureaucrat, businessman and academic, Hagan has stuck close to his Aboriginal roots and the lessons imparted from his family and cultural advisors. On a journey marked by controversy and the inside of courtrooms, he has advanced from one legal battle to another.

In the 1990s Hagan's fortunes went from enjoying the heady company of Queensland political powerbrokers to a spectacular fall from grace and desperate attempts to clear his name of legal charges. He later defended wrongful dismissal charges and came up against his own people while championing the cause for transparency and accountability in publicly-funded organisations.

'The N Word ' is a riveting account of "one man's stand" and an uncompromising insight into Indigenous politics by one of Australia's most sought-after political commentators on race relations.' Source: http://www.stephenhagan.net/ (Sighted: 04/06/2009).

2005 winner Deadly Sounds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Entertainment and Community Awards Outstanding Achievement in Literature
Last amended 15 Sep 2015 13:54:04
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