NOONGAR YORGA WINS UNIVERSITY AWARD

BY SAM WALKER

LEFT: Ms Mackay with her Aunty Thelmay McIntosh and father Stan Headland. RIGHT: Ms Mackay with her lecturer Anna Copeland. Credit: Supplied.

A Whadjuk Noongar law student has won an achievement award for her high academic performance.

Marianne Headland Mackay is a passionate advocate for the rights of Indigenous people.

On top of that, she’s a mother of seven, a grandmother and is studying for a law degree.

Ms Mackay started her law degree in 2009 and is hoping to graduate in 2024. 

Ms Mackay was very emotional and proud when she received her amazing achievement.

“I'm not one for awards,” she said. “Us mob as blackfellas, our satisfaction is seeing our people do good for themselves and get support,”  she said.  

“With my law degree, I’ve worked so hard, because I'm a single mother of seven, with six at home plus my new grandson.

“The workload for a law degree is huge. It takes up a lot of time so, getting an award, something at uni, which I never thought I'd ever get … it just blew me away. I was in tears when I read the email.”

Ms Mackay has a passion for studying the criminal justice system to help Aboriginal people who have fallen into the cycle of crime.

“We go through that many things as Aboriginal people,” she said.

“My message is: if you have a dream or you have goals, just follow it and don't let anything stop you on your path.

“I had a partner that was in and out of jail and on and off drugs.  We had seven kids together, and I just persisted through his mental health issues and everything, because at the end of the day, if I can do my law degree, anyone can do anything.”

 “Life isn't easy and we only get thrown at us what the spirits think that we can handle. So every barrier that comes our way, we’ve just got a smash it down and just not let anything stop us from doing what it is that we want and need to do.”

Tangiora Hinaki