{"id":212400,"date":"2018-06-27T23:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T13:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=212400"},"modified":"2020-07-30T16:18:17","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T06:18:17","slug":"honour-salutes-a-lifetime-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/06\/27\/honour-salutes-a-lifetime-of-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Honour Salutes A Lifetime Of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Wakka Wakka elder, retired teacher, Vietnam veteran, Ration Shed committee member – and the South Burnett’s latest Queen’s Birthday awards recipient … Uncle Eric Law<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 28, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wakka Wakka elder Eric Law was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours List … not a bad effort for a youngster who started school in the 1950s at what was then known as the Cherbourg Mission School.<\/p>\n

It’s been a long journey to receiving one of the highest honours Australia hands out – a journey that has included service in Vietnam, the life of a teacher in country schools and then a return to Cherbourg to become superintendent of the then-Aboriginal Reserve and later Mayor of the independent council.<\/p>\n

Uncle Eric Law was born in Cherbourg in 1950, the son of Vincent Frederick Law, a proud Wakka Wakka man and returned World War I soldier, and Marjorie Clevens, a Bigambul woman from NSW.<\/p>\n

Marjorie, 7, and her sister Phyllis, 9, were brought to Cherbourg about 80 years ago from Collarenebri. No one really knows why …<\/p>\n

War Memorial records show Vincent served in Egypt. In 1976, he was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the Aboriginal community.<\/p>\n

Eric has followed in his dad’s footsteps in more ways than one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1967, the young man finished high school at Murgon.<\/p>\n

Conscription had begun in Australia in 1964, but it was not compulsory for Aboriginal men to serve.<\/p>\n

(It was a different time. Prior to the 1967 Referendum, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people weren’t even counted in the Census.)<\/p>\n

However, Eric told his father if his birthday was pulled out of the conscription lottery, he would take it as a sign and volunteer.<\/p>\n

It was, and he did.<\/p>\n

Eric was shipped off to Vietnam in 1969 and worked at the Australian Taskforce Headquarters in Intelligence.<\/p>\n

“We were briefing our leaders about where we thought there was a potential for attack,” he said.<\/p>\n

Once back in Australia, Eric began studying at Teacher’s College.<\/p>\n

In 1972, a trial began at Cherbourg School of “community teachers”. These were Aboriginal people who were more than teacher’s aides but not yet qualified teachers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We were the first lot to do it and it worked here brilliantly,” Eric said.<\/p>\n

“It gave me the motivation to go and get qualified.”<\/p>\n

Eric went to Townsville in 1976 and began a teaching degree.<\/p>\n

He was studying with a group of about 20 Indigenous students from all over Queensland, some just out of high school.<\/p>\n

“We were the first group of Aboriginal people to go through uni as a group. That was significant,” he said.<\/p>\n

Eric graduated in 1980 and began his teaching career, mainly in North Queensland, and progressed to being appointed principal at a school in Torres Strait.<\/p>\n

About this time, then-Queensland MP Bob Katter came into Eric’s life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Katter was Minister for Northern Development and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs in the Bjelke-Petersen government, and he asked Eric to come and join him in the department.<\/p>\n

In 1983, Katter appointed Eric superintendent of Cherbourg.<\/p>\n

It was a time of change for Aboriginal Affairs in Queensland.<\/p>\n

“We created DOGIT (“Deed Of Grant in Trust” – the community-level land trust scheme established to administer former Aboriginal reserves) and we created councils,” Eric said.<\/p>\n

“We changed from being governed by Brisbane to being governed by an elected council.”<\/p>\n

Eric was elected to the second Cherbourg Council and served as Mayor during the 1980s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He then returned to teaching, serving as Campus Director at Nurunderi TAFE and working in the Catholic school system, mainly at St Joseph’s school in Murgon and St Mary’s in Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

He retired from full-time work in 2007 and took on the role as chairman of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Education committee.<\/p>\n

And he still does some work for this committee today.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Eric was presented with the \u201cAunty Joan Hendriks Spirit of Catholic Education Award for Reconciliation\u201d by State Governor Penelope Wensley for his work at St Joseph\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In 2015, he added fundraising to his career portfolio when he was named the South Burnett “Face Of Relay” for the annual Relay For Life cancer appeal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These days Uncle Eric is still heavily involved in activities in Cherbourg.<\/p>\n

He’s immensely proud of the “Cherbourg Junior Police Rangers”, a group of local youngsters he’s been working with who have been running the annual Cherbourg Anzac Day service for the past eight years.<\/p>\n

“It’s the only place in Australia where a group of Aboriginal children run an Anzac Day service,” he said.<\/p>\n

He’s also a member of the committee that runs The Ration Shed Museum and historical precinct at Cherbourg, and is one of the regular tour guides who lead visitors through the displays.<\/p>\n

Any story about Eric Law must also mention his wife Shirley … the couple have been married for 44 years and have five children.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A lot of credit for my award goes to my wife Shirley and my family,” Eric said.<\/p>\n

“They have followed me all over the place.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Shirley and Eric Law at the Apology Day 10th Anniversary celebrations at The Ration Shed in Cherbourg earlier this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Eric Law and Cherbourg Junior Police Rangers back in 2013 when he’d lost his hair after receiving cancer treatment (Photo: Marcus Priaulx)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wakka Wakka elder Eric Law was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours List … not a bad effort for a youngster who started school in the 1950s at what was then known as the Cherbourg Mission School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":212405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,3,395],"tags":[1135,35],"yoast_head":"\nHonour Salutes A Lifetime Of Service - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wakka Wakka elder Eric Law was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours List ... not a bad effort for a youngster who started school in the 1950s at what was then known as the Cherbourg Mission School.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/06\/27\/honour-salutes-a-lifetime-of-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honour Salutes A Lifetime Of Service - 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