Partners
The inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People shares her powerful story of fighting systemic injustice.
Proud Bundjalung and Widubul-Wiabul woman Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts has experienced the injustices of the Australian legal system firsthand. Forcibly removed from her family and community at age ten, she spent her adolescence in out-of-home care. She later became a human rights lawyer, and last year was appointed the inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.
For the 2024 E. W. Cole Lecture, Turnbull-Roberts shares how her personal experience led to a career spent advocating for and amplifying the voices of First Nations children. From the out-of-home care system in Australia to the practices of family policing, she will discuss the institutional structures that enable the removal and incarceration of First Nations children and young people.
This annual lecture honours the legacy of E. W. Cole of Cole’s Book Arcade by inviting Australia’s brightest thinkers to deliver talks that spark progressive and future-thinking ideas for our society. A Q&A will follow the lecture with the host to be announced soon.
Presented in partnership with Blak & Bright. Supported by the E. W. Cole Foundation.
Spring Fling: Wild Abandon
A season of curiosity unleashed.
Spring Fling returns for 2024 with wild abandon. This year, we’ve curated a lineup of change-makers, rule-breakers and singular storytellers to challenge your preconceptions and foster new ways of thinking.
Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 17 October
6.30pm-7.30pm
Tickets
$19.00
Full
$15.00
Concession
$0.00
Pay What You Wish
Location
Accessibility
Accessible toilets available
Assistive Listening
Auslan interpreting available by-request
Companion tickets available
Registered Assistance Animals welcome
Wheelchair accessible
For information regarding accessibility at The Wheeler Centre, click here.
Please notify us of all access requirements when booking online so we can assist you with your visit. If you require further information, please contact ticketing@wheelercentre.com.
Additional Notes
Featuring
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a proud Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul Woman who is an advocate for Human Rights, Indigenous people’s rights, and children and young people. As a survivor she speaks from a place of truth ...