Justine Saunders
Saunders in a scene from TV series Number 96.
Born
Justine Florence Saunders

20 February 1953
Quilpie, Queensland, Australia
Died15 April 2007(2007-04-15) (aged 54)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active1974–2002
Known forNumber 96 (TV series) as Rhonda Jackson
Prisoner (TV series)‚ as Pamela Madigan
AwardsAboriginal Artist of the Year Award (1985)
Order of Australia (1991, rejected 2000)
Red Ochre Award 1999

Justine Florence Saunders, (20 February 1953 – 15 April 2007) was an Australian stage, television and film actress. She was a member of the Woppaburra, an Australian Aboriginal people, from the Kanomie clan of Great Keppel Island in Queensland.[1] On the small screen she appeared in numerous series, mini-series and telemovies.[1]

Screen roles

Saunders having started her career in theatre, made her screen debut in the television serial Rush in 1974, but first came to prominence as a cast member of soap opera Number 96 in 1976, as Rhonda Jackson. in a brief story arc portraying a character defending the rights of indigenous Australians. Subsequently, in 1986 she became best known for her role as social worker Pamela Madigan in the serial Prisoner

Other television credits include: Skyways, Women of the Sun (1981), Farscape, Blue Heelers, and MDA.

Her film work includes The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and The Fringe Dwellers.[1]

Personal

Saunders was born next to a railway track. At the age of 11, as a member of the Stolen Generation, she was removed from her mother Heather and taken to Brisbane and placed in a convent. Heather was not told of Justine's whereabouts for more than ten years, and spent much of that time searching for her.

In April 2007, Saunders died of cancer at Hawkesbury District Hospital, Sydney, aged 54.[2][3]

Honours and awards

Order of Australia Medal

In 1991, Saunders was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for her services to the performing arts, her services to the National Aboriginal Theatre, and for her assistance in setting up the Black Theatre and the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust.[1]

In 2000, through the indigenous Senator Aden Ridgeway, she returned the medal in protest at the emotional turmoil her mother was suffering over the Howard government's denial of the term "stolen generation".

Other awards

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Type
1974EssingtonTV movie
1977The Cake ManTV movie
1978The Death TrainGreg's wifeTV movie
1978The Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithNancyFeature film
1983Chase Through the NightMaryTV movie
1984Mail Order BrideIridTV movie
1986Charley's WebJoan LynchTV movie
1986The Fringe DwellersMollie ComeawayFeature film
1988Touch the Sun: Top EndersElvaTV movie
1991Until the End of the WorldMaisieFeature film
1992Jindalee LadyFeature film
1997The TowerLouiseTV movie

Television

Year Title Role Type
1974RushWeroweyTV series
1975Ben HallJununjiTV series
1976Luke's KingdomAboriginal girlTV series
1976Number 96Rhonda JacksonTV series
1977Pig in a PokeMaureenTV series
1977; 1984; 1985The Mike Walsh ShowGuestTV series, 3 episodes
1978Against the WindNgilgiTV miniseries
1979Top MatesTV miniseries
1979SkywaysFlight attendant Helen SmithTV series
1981Women of the SunMérida AndersonTV miniseries
1982Silent ReachAllison BurnieTV miniseries
1986Prisoner: Cell Block HPamela MadiganTV series
1987A Country PracticeBrenda DwyerTV series, episode part 1 and 2: "Birds of Prey"
1988The First AustraliansCo-presenterTV anthology series
1992G.P.DollyTV series
1989-92The Flying DoctorsBessie / Magistrate KrumTV series
1994HeartlandMillie CarmichaelTV miniseries
1996House GangPresident of AustraliaTV series
1998The Violent EarthAunt JunieTV miniseries
2000FarscapeAltanaTV series
Blue HeelersAnnie BakerTV series
2002MDARuby McKinnonTV series

Theatre

As actor

Year Title Role Type
1975The Cake ManBlack Theatre Arts and Culture Centre
1976Basically BlackSpace Theatre, Adelaide
1977The Cake ManMother / RubyBondi Pavilion
1980Bullie's HouseDuluma (Doolie)Nimrod Upstairs
1981Buckley's!DelPlayhouse, Adelaide
1982The Cake ManUniversity of NSW Parade Theatre, Universal Theatre, Melbourne
1983The Marginal FarmRussell Street Theatre
1984The Cake ManPhillip Street Theatre
1985Bullie's HouseDuluma (Doolie)Long Wharf Theatre
1987No TroubleUniversal Theatre, Melbourne
1987CoordahCurtin University
1988Not the 1988 Party!Belvoir Street Theatre
1988CapricorniaBelvoir Street Theatre, Parramatta Cultural Centre, Darwin Performing Arts Centre, Canberra Theatre
1988The 16th Australian National Playwrights' ConferenceUNSW Parade Theatre
1989A Special PlaceCremorne Theatre
1989The Currency LassQ Theatre, Penrith
1990CapricorniaJunie / Sally / Fat AnnaPlayhouse, Adelaide, Playhouse, Melbourne
1991The CrucibleSydney Opera House
1994No SugarBallina Street Bridge, Lismore
1994SistergirlRussell Street Theatre
1995Because You are MineANU
1996The Commission / The Aboriginal ProtestersWeimar, Germany, Berlin, Germany, The Performance Space Redfern
1996Island in the SunPrice Theatre, Adelaide
1996Black MarySydney Street Theatre, Brisbane
1997A Midsummer Night's DreamKangarooWharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1999Conversations at the Ryan HotelStar Court Theatre, Lismore
2000La DisputeCariseWharf Theatre
2000Black MedeaWharf Theatre
2001Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival 2001: The Stars Are Brightly ShiningState Theatre, Sydney
2001The Twilight SeriesCollins Street Baptist Church, Melbourne
2003-04Last Cab to DarwinOctagon Theatre, Perth, Sydney Opera House, Broken Hill Entertainment Centre, Orange Civic Theatre, Glen Street Theatre, Manning Entertainment Centre, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Princess Theatre, Launceston, IMB Theatre, Wollongong, Darwin Entertainment Centre, The Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga
2005Black MedeaBelvoir Street Theatre, Malthouse Theatre

As director

Year Title Role Type
1989The Second National Aboriginal Playwrights' ConferenceDirectorMacquarie University

[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Justine Saunders". National Portrait Gallery (Australia). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Carman, Gerry (18 April 2007). "A fight against the stereotype". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2007.Obituary.
  3. ↑ Obituary "Aboriginal actress who broke stereotypes", by Gerry Carman and Pauline Clague, The Age, 17 April 2007.
  4. ↑ "Aboriginal award for actress". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 239. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 September 1985. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ Red Ochre Award Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/6758
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