WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name, photograph and voice of an Indigenous person who has died.
February 14, 2026
Award-winning poet, author, artist and First Nations activist Lionel Fogarty died on Thursday, aged 68.
Uncle Lionel, a proud Mununjali man, was born and raised in Cherbourg and has been one of Australia’s most-recognised poets for more than 30 years.
His first collection, “Kargun”, was published in 1980.
Uncle Lionel was presented with the Judith Wright Calanthe Award at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards for “Harvest Lingo”, his 14th collection of poems.
The work was also shortlisted in 2023 at the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.
During the 1970s and beyond, Uncle Lionel was a loud voice in the Land Rights movement as well as protests against Black deaths in custody.
He was recognised with a Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards for his literary output as well as his mentoring of young First Nations writers from across Australia.
