By John McGill and Sheila Suttner
PERTH — Aboriginal activist and Vietnam veteran Lenny Culbong died on June 18, aged only 48. His exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam was a major factor in his early death.
Despite increasingly bad health, Lenny fought constantly and courageously for the rights of his people. He was involved in the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra, set up on January 28, 1972, and in protests against the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982. As chairperson of the Black Action Group, he helped pressure the federal government into setting up the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in the late 1980s.
In 1988, Lenny was a member of a group of Aboriginal activists, including Yaluritga (Clarrie Isaac) and Michael Mansell, who visited Libya. This gained worldwide publicity for their cause and severely embarrassed the Australian government.
Lenny was also a leader of the protest against the redevelopment of the old Swan brewery in Perth, and a member of the Rottnest Island Deaths Group, which prevented refurbishment and development of the old jail on Rottnest. Aboriginal elders identified the jail as a sacred and historical site, surrounded by the graves of Aboriginal prisoners killed by the inhuman conditions that existed on the island last century.
Lenny put his house up as surety for court costs over the Rottnest issue. Alan Bond's company, Dalhold, was the plaintiff, and Lenny received notice he would have to hand over his home. His response was classical Culbong: "Let me know what day you want to collect it. I'll torch the house the night before so the ashes will be cool enough to pick up in the morning."
On June 28, a large crowd gathered to commiserate with his wife, Maureen, and five children, and to pay tribute to a man who was born under a tree 48 years before. Yaluritga, a fellow activist and close friend, said Lenny would be remembered as a person of courage and dedication who cared deeply about his people and could be called upon at any time, day or night, to stand in their defence. Yaluritga said: "Lenny never became one of the black bureaucrats; he never lost his contact with the people. He was consistent in the struggle, and the struggle goes on."