Our Founder

Hyllus Maris was of Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri descent. A Visionary, Aboriginal Rights Campaigner and Community Leader, she was involved in the establishment of a number of key Aboriginal community services including the Aboriginal Health Service, Aboriginal Legal Service and Cultural Heritage Council.

Hyllus Maris was also a singer, musician and writer. She wrote Spiritual Song of the Aborigine and co-wrote Women of the Sun, a four part documentary which won a number of prestigious awards including the United Nations Media Peace Award and the Australian Writers Guild Award in 1983. Her initiatives in Aboriginal education included the establishment in 1977 of The Green Hills Foundation for Aboriginal education which secured scholarships for Aboriginal children at some of Melbourne’s leading schools. An Aboriginal woman of many remarkable achievements, her greatest legacy is Worawa Aboriginal College which has the distinction of being Victoria’s first and only Aboriginal school.