Lionel Fogarty

Description

Agent TypePerson Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

IdentifierUMA-AG-000001701 Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

Place of BirthCherbourg, Queensland Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

Place of DeathLogan, Queensland Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

Activities & OccupationsPoet Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

Writer

Activist

Painter

GenderMale Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

HistoryA Mununjali man of the Yugambeh people, Lionel Fogarty was born at Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, now known as Cherbourg.

A prolific writer, he published 16 collections of poetry, from Kargun (1980) to Harvest Lingo (2022). Fogarty was also a prolific painter often pair his poetry and his painting.

Fogarty spent his life advocating for Community, Sovereignty, Land Rights and against Aboriginal deaths in custody. In 1993 Fogarty’s 18-year-old brother Daniel Yock, a founder of the Wakka Wakka Dance Company, died after being brutally taken into custody by Police in Brisbane.

Lionel Fogarty's legacy as a revolutionary poet is situated clearly by Waanyi writer Alexis Wright who called Fogarty the “poet laureate” of Aboriginal literature. Fogarty's work was recognised with numerous awards including in 2025 the prestigious Red Ochre award for his lifetime achievement in artistic excellence. Last edited by: stellamarr@unimelb.edu.au

Image