Yvonne Weldon

Yvonne Weldon AM (born 9 February 1971) is an Australian local government politician. She was elected deputy chairwoman of Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and was the first Aboriginal candidate for Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney in the 2021 NSW local government elections.[1] She is the first Aboriginal councillor elected in the City of Sydney.

Councillor
Yvonne Weldon
AM
Councillor of the City of Sydney
Assumed office
4 December 2021
Personal details
Born (1971-02-09) 9 February 1971
New South Wales, Australia
Political partyYvonne Weldon Independents (since 2023)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (until 2023)
Known forAboriginal rights, social justice, health justice, domestic violence prevention, and child protection
Awards2019 NSW Volunteer of the Year for the South Sydney Region, 2022 Cancer Institute NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Award

Early life and background

Weldon is of Wiradjuri ancestry.[2] From a young age, she developed a strong passion and commitment to bringing about positive change for Aboriginal people and communities. She attended public school in Redfern, Sydney. Weldon is currently the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Deputy Chair of the New South Wales Australia Day Council,[3] a board member of Domestic Violence NSW and a former board member of Redfern Jarjum College.[4] She has spent more than 20 years working in key First Nations and government organisations across the country.

In 2016, she was short-listed for the Queensland Literary Awards, David Unaipon Award for her unpublished manuscript 67 Days and was awarded the 2017 Allen & Unwin Faber Writing Academy scholarship.[5] Sixty-Seven Days was published by Michael Joseph in 2022. Sydney Morning Herald reviewer, Juliette Hughes, claimed the book was more than a romance and that it "should be on every book club’s list".[6]

Weldon conducted the welcome to country ceremony for Australia Day 2019 at Sydney harbourside with the then New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Governor David Hurley.[7]

Awards

Weldon was awarded the 2019 NSW Volunteer of the Year for the South Sydney Region[8] and she was awarded the 2022 Cancer Institute NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Award.[9] She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for her work with the Indigenous community of New South Wales.[10]

References
  1. O'Sullivan, Matt (14 May 2021). "Indigenous leader Yvonne Weldon enters race for Sydney mayoralty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. "Artist – Yvonne Weldon". Bundanon. 22 October 2021.
  3. "NAIDOC Week 2020 – Yvonne Weldon Biography". NSW Premier & Cabinet. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. Silva, Nadine (14 May 2021). "Wiradjuri woman enters race for Sydney Lord Mayor". NITV. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. Knowles, Rachael (9 March 2022). "Yvonne Weldon named NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year". NITV. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. Hughes, Juliette (5 August 2022). "The tender love story that should be on every book club's list". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  7. Moore, Sophie; Drape, Julian (22 October 2021). "Fun vs politics for Sydney's Australia Day". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. Weldon, Yvonne (9 November 2020). "Yvonne Weldon on the truth about Aboriginal incarceration, racism in Australia and how we can instigate real change". Vogue Australia. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  9. "2022-Cancer Institute NSW Aboriginal Woman of Year Award". Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  10. "Ms Yvonne Weldon". It's an Honour. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
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