Gracelyn Smallwood

Gracelyn Smallwood
Gracelyn Smallwood c. 1975
Born	1951 Townsville, Queensland
Alma mater	James Cook University
Occupations	Professor Registered nurse Midwife
Notable work	Condoman

Gracelyn Smallwood AM (born 1951) is a professor of nursing and midwifery at Central Queensland University. She is an Aboriginal Australian of Biri descent. ^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Smallwood was born in 1951 in Townsville, Queensland, of Biri descent. ^[2]

Smallwood trained in general nursing, midwifery and psychiatric nursing at the Townsville Hospital. ^[2] She was the first Indigenous Australian to be awarded a Masters of Science in public health from James Cook University. ^[1] Smallwood has been an advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people since 1968. ^[3]

In 1987, Smallwood was selected to be on the National Advisory Commission on AIDS (NACAIDS). She was given a grant of A$5000 to create an HIV/AIDS education program aimed at indigenous Australians. She created the successful Condoman character and advertising campaign to promote condom use. ^[4] She would be invited to be a keynote speaker at a 1988 World Health Organization conference in London, in recognition of her efforts in HIV prevention and the success of the Condoman campaign, and would go on to tour the United States to speak to African American and Native American communities about sexual health. ^[5]

In 2016, she was appointed Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Central Queensland University. ^[6] On 15 January 2020, it was announced that Smallwood would be one of the members of the National Co-design Group of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. ^[3]

Awards and honours

Awards and honours received by Smallwood include: ^[3]

• Queensland Aboriginal of the Year in 1986
• Henry Kempe Memorial Award at the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in 1994
• Deadly Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Indigenous Health in 2007
• NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2014
• Member of the Order of Australia in 1992, for her service to Aboriginal Health and Welfare, and to public health, particularly HIV/AIDS.

Published works

• Smallwood, Gracelyn; Royal College of Nursing, Australia (1990), Aboriginal health by the year 2000, Royal College of Nursing, Australia, ISBN   978-0-909449-39-1
• Smallwood, Gracelyn (October 2011), Human rights and first Australians' well-being , retrieved 3 May 2018
• Smallwood, Gracelyn (2015), Indigenist critical realism : human rights and First Australians' well-being, Routledge, ISBN   978-1-138-81036-5

References

1. "Professor Gracelyn Smallwood AO: Board member, Townsville Hospital and Health Board". Queensland Health. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
2. Kovacic, Leonarda; Lemon, Barbara (12 January 2009). "Smallwood, Gracelyn (1951 - )". The Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
3. "National Co-design Group". Indigenous Voice. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
4. Payne, Holly (26 May 2021). "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's … Condoman!". Medical Republic. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
5. Fela, Geraldine; Smallwood, Gracelyn (8 July 2024). "First Nations superhero 'Condoman' was a world leader in HIV prevention. Aunty Gracelyn Smallwood made it happen". The Conversation . Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
6. Nugent, Victoria (5 July 2016). "New era for Smallwood". Townsville Bulletin . Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2018.

External links

Media related to Gracelyn Smallwood at Wikimedia Commons

• "Smallwood, Gracelyn (1951-)", Trove, National Library of Australia