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Stephen Hagan
Stephen Hagan is a descendant of the Kullilli people of south-west Queensland. Born in 1959, his early years were spent living in a fringe camp on the outskirts of Cunnamulla. When he was seven, Stephen’s father moved his family into their brand new house in town; a defining point in Stephen’s life as he became conscious of the huge socio-economic gaps between Aboriginal kids and white kids.
Stephen’s achievements in high school saw him go to Marist College Ashgrove, a private boarding school in Brisbane, where he stood proud as one of only a few Aboriginal students. In 1979 he took up teacher training but disillusioned with being forced to teach racist government-approved texts, Stephen made a career move. In Canberra he worked with various Indigenous organisations under charismatic leader Charles Perkins, who left an indelible impression on him. Stephen later moved to the Department of Foreign Affairs where he was posted as a diplomat to Colombo. Returning to Australia he worked in various public service roles as well as venturing into cultural tourism in the private sector.
Stephen represented his people at several international forums in India and the West Indies. He turned twenty one in Bombay and had the good fortune of spending time with Mother Theresa in Calcutta working among the destitute.
Stephen has become known in recent years as a commentator on race relations and for his relentless legal battle to remove the word ‘Nigger’ from a sign at a sportsground in the Queensland town of Toowoomba and to change the brand name of Coon Cheese. In September 2005 he received the Deadly Award at the Opera House, Sydney for Outstanding Achievement in Literature for his published non-fiction book – The N Word, One Man’s Stand.
He is married with two children and is currently an academic at the University of Southern Queensland, where he is also studying for his PhD.
Stephen’s parents are Jim (Kullilli tribe) and Jean (Kooma tribe). His siblings are Pam, Jim, Susan and Lawrence. His wife is Rhonda (Mamu tribe) and children Stephen Jnr and Jayde.
He hopes to have his first fiction book Traditional Love Child launched in 2006 and is working on a ten-book series for children with an Indigenous theme.
Stephen writes a fortnightly column for the Koori Mail http://www.koorimail.com/index.php under Hagan's View and is a regular columnist on onlineopinion http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/.
Stephen is also a publisher having recently entered into an exciting international publishing house business venture http://www.ngalgawarralupublishing.com.au
CURLY QUESTIONS:
Where were you born?
Cunnamulla
What tribe are you from?
Kullilli (father) and Kooma (mother)
What is your totem?
Boida (red kangaroo)
What is your favourite Indigenous meal?
Porcupine
What is your favourite non-Indigenous meal?
Coconut curried chicken (Sri Lankan style - hot)
Who are your favourite music artists?
The Eagles (easy listening)
Kev Carmody/Paul Kelly (folk)
Alan Jackson (country)
Nat King Cole (blues)
Andrea Bocelli (opera)
What book are you reading?
The White Earth by Andrew McGahan (Miles Franklin Literary Award winner)
What is your favourite all time best read?
"The long walk to freedom" by Nelson Mandela
What was the latest movie you paid to see?
The Proposition (Directed by John Hillcoat - starring David Gulpilil, Leah Purcell and Tommy Lewis)
What is your all time best movie?
Rabbit Proof Fence (Directed by Philip Noyce - starring Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monaghan)
What is your favourite holiday destination?
Jamaica, West Indies
What country would you live in other than Australia?
India
What makes you happy?
Children laughing
What are your pet hates?
Racist civic leaders / domestic violence / child abuse
What are you passionate about?
Improving the social status of Indigenous Australians
If you were Prime Minister for a day which law would you introduce?
I would introduce policy to create a nationally elected Indigenous committee
What is the most impulsive thing you've ever done?
Written a book
What is one thing you'd like to do in this lifetime?
Write and publish a different book every year for the rest of my life
If you could pick two people to sit next to on a long plane trip who would you choose?
It would have to be three - Rhonda (wife), Stephen (son) and Jayde (daughter)
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