Aunty Frances Gallagher (26^th August 1926 – 4^th April 2026)

Our community has lost a warrior and champion for our rights in the passing of Aunty Frances, proud Gunditjmara Elder.

A great deal has been written about Aunty Frances but for us, here at ACES, we have lost an Elder, a friend, an Aunty, a cultural icon and a connection with our past who we can never replace.

In 1926, when Aunty Frances was born, the notion of Aboriginal rights was non-existent. Aboriginal people lived under the infamous “Protection” laws when State Governments had complete control over their rights including the right of movement, employment and marriage and the removal of children. Aboriginal people weren’t allowed to vote in some states and weren’t counted in the population. It was a time when the wider non-Aboriginal population believed that Aboriginal people were dying out. Effectively, the erasure or genocide of Aboriginal people was being ushered in.

Into this environment, was born Aunty Frances, and it was her and her generation who fought for their rights under the most trying of circumstances and under the heel of a uniquely Australian form of authoritarianism only experienced by the Indigenous Peoples of this land.

Despite the racism and restrictions she experienced personally, Aunty Frances raised a large family, nurturing them into an Australia where equality is increasingly the norm, even as we continue to experience institutional racism and colonialism.

Aunty Frances was a founder of ACES and her contribution to community was recognised in 2016 in her induction into the Indigenous Honor Roll. Aunty Frances was also one of the founding members of the ACES Elders Choir and a founding member of the PAG group, reflecting her deep involvement and leadership in our community. She will always be remembered.

We have lost another one of our generation of giants on whose shoulders we stand.