Aunty Helen Morgan

Aunty Helen Morgan (née Gaye Solomon) is a proud Bidwell, Gunai and Gunditjmara woman born in Orbost. She is the oldest daughter of Agnus Ritchie and Henry Banjo Clarke, but it was her mother’s sister, Edna Solomon, and her husband, Albert Solomon, who raised her. Aunty Helen became the eldest of 15 children. As the big sister in a large family, Aunty Helen learned to guide, nurture and help others. Growing up in a large family before Indigenous rights were recongised, meant that life was hard and racism was everywhere. As a young girl, she worked in paddocks, helping her family make ends meet. Through the challenges of poverty and racism, Aunty Helen has always taken care of others. Aunty Helen is a proud mother and great-great-grandmother who is well known in the community for fostering many children over the years. Many people lovingly refer to Aunty Helen as “Mummy Nanny”.

Throughout her life, Aunty Helen’s generosity, love and care has been the leadership she lives every day. She turned the challenges she faced as a young girl into a lifelong commitment to others. She has always been drawn to causes that are bigger than she is, and this has carried through to a lifetime of service to the community.

Aunty Helen has been a pioneer in Aboriginal health and community, dedicating decades to the cause. In the early 1980s, Aunty Helen worked as a cleaner at what was then called the Bairnsdale Hospital. In 1982, she was appointed as the very first Aboriginal Liaison Officer at the hospital. This work took her across the region, providing support to local families in many different ways. She worked to support people with hospital care and follow-up support, as well as with housing and other services.

Aunty Helen served at the hospital for 20 years, helping Aboriginal patients feel respected and safe. She broke barriers inside the health system and made it possible for families to access hospital care with dignity. For 2 decades, Aunty Helen was the bridge between the hospital and the Aboriginal community. Many families remember how she walked alongside them in times of sickness and grief. Aunty Helen made sure people felt safe and respected inside a system that had so often excluded them. In 2025, 40 years after she started working at the hospital, Aunty Helen was awarded Life Governorship of the Bairnsdale Regional Health Service.

In the early 1960s, Aunty Helen was part of a group that created the East Gippsland Aboriginal Women’s Group. She, alongside Aunty Nessie Skuta and other women in the community, created a movement for services designed by and for Aboriginal people. What began as meetings around kitchen tables and community halls quickly grew. The women’s group paved the way for Bairnsdale’s first Aboriginal Medical Service in 1975. A few short years later, the medical service changed its name to GEGAC - the Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative. GEGAC is now widely known as the cornerstone of Aboriginal self-determination in Gippsland. Aunty Helen’s work directly led to the founding of GEGAC, and because of her, thousands of Aboriginal people have access to culturally safe services. This work was not only about better health care. It was also about reclaiming Aboriginal pride and self-determination. Aunty Helen and those involved in starting GEGAC fought for a better future for their people. They protested, raised money and organised people. They pushed against barriers that were designed to keep Aboriginal families out of health and education. Aunty Helen not only fought for better health care. She is an important part of the reason why better services are delivered by and for Aboriginal people in the region.

Aunty Helen served on the GEGAC Board for many years. She also worked in the medical centre and campaigned for better funding alongside her sisters and aunties. But Aunty Helen’s commitment extended even beyond GEGAC. One of the things Aunty Helen is most known for is her generosity. She started a breakfast program at Bairnsdale Primary School and would take care of children and help families with groceries. Aunty Helen is known as someone who is both proud and kind, and as someone who makes a very real difference to people’s lives.

Aunty Helen believes in the power of education. She has also worked as a Koori Educator, helping Aboriginal kids find their place and voice in schools. She knows from experience how hard it could be to walk through doors that weren’t built for you, and she made sure the next generation had support and guidance to keep going. Even after retiring, she never really stopped working for her people. She gave her time to local kindergartens and schools, to Uniting in Gippsland, to TAFE and adult education programs. She has never stopped giving back.

Aunty Helen carries the stories of families and communities with her. She holds cultural responsibilities and passes her wisdom on to young generations. She is focused on protecting culture and ensuring Aboriginal values are front and centre. Her legacy lives on in the powerful institutions she helped create. Aunty Helen helped lay the foundations of organisations that continue to stand up for community. Her legacy is a community that is stronger, safer and more self- determined because of her. She continues to show what it means to serve with love, to fight with determination, and to give without expecting anything in return.