Oochunyung, Fiona Wirrer-George

Fiona Wirrer-George Oochunyung, daughter of a Mbaiwum woman and a father of Austrian origin, was raised by her grandparents and grew up between the two communities of Napranum (Weipa South) and Aurukun, on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. Fiona graduated from the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) Dance College, Sydney, and James Cook University and has worked as a freelance performer and choreographer. Her biography/family memoir, Whispers of this Wik Woman, about her grandmother, Jean George Awumpan, Alngith Wikway and Wik Elder, won the 2003 David Unaipon Award and was published by UQP in 2004. It was also made into a play performed by the Kooemba Jdarra Theatre Company. She has written two other works for the stage, A Bastard’s Tale and Blak Velvet, and also published children’s books, including On Country: Stories of Nyrlotte (2006) and Jindah Murray – Wind Dancer (2011). Fiona is currently studying for a Master of Education and working with Indigenous girls at Clayfield College. She lives in Brisbane with her three daughters.;