Aaron Fa'aoso | |
|---|---|
 Fa'aoso at the 2012 AACTA Awards | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupations |
|
| Television | |
Aaron Fa'aoso is an Australian actor, screenwriter and producer, known for his roles in East West 101 , The Straits (which he also wrote and produced) and Black Comedy . He established Lonestar Productions in 2013, which brings stories of the people of the Torres Strait Islands and north Queensland to the screen.
Fa'aoso was born into the Kheodal (Crocodile) and Samu (Emu) clans of Torres Strait Islanders people, his family having moved from Saibai Island to the mainland of Australia in 1947. [1] He is also of Samoan and Tongan descent. [2] [3] He grew up in "a big Torres Strait Islander community" [4] in Bamaga on the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. [1]
He graduated high school, [4] and worked as a sexual health worker in Bamaga, and played rugby league football in the Australian Rugby League and Super League competitions. [2] He moved from Cairns to Sydney to pursue a rugby career, joining the Canterbury Bulldogs rugby league club. [4]
Fa'aoso began his acting television career in 2006, where he played Eddie Gaibui on RAN , a six-part drama which aired on SBS One. In late 2007 to early 2008 he appeared in the first series another SBS drama series, East West 101 , playing Detective Sonny Koa. Later that year he had a guest role in Sea Patrol , which aired on Network Nine.[ citation needed ]
In 2009 he appeared in season two of East West 101 and starred in the film Subdivision . In 2011, he returned to star in the third and final season of East West 101 on SBS.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, he appeared the last four episodes of the Australian drama TV series Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms .[ citation needed ]
Also in 2012, he wrote, produced and starred in ABC Television's's 10-part drama series The Straits , about a north Queensland crime family. [5] The series was highly praised by critics, with one calling it The Sopranos of the Top End. [4]
Fa'aoso has appeared as a recurring character in the ABC sketch comedy series, Black Comedy (2014–2020). [6]
In 2022 Fa’aoso published his memoir with Michelle Scott Tucker. So Far, So Good was the first memoir to be published commercially by a Torres Strait Islander. [7]
Fa'aso's main interest is in telling Indigenous stories. [4] To that end, he created Lonestar Productions in 2013. [8] The company makes films in the Torres Strait and Cape York regions, and has produced documentary series such as Blue Water Empire (about the history of the Torres Strait Islander people) and Strait to the Plate (food in the islands), in which Fa'aoso features. [9]
Since at least 2018 [4] and as of June 2022 [update] Fa'aoso is on the board of Screen Queensland. [10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Subdivision | Solly | |
| 2014 | Man | Jungle | Short film |
| 2016 | Goldstone | Bear | |
| 2017 | Outlaws | Motu |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | RAN Remote Area Nurse | Eddie Gaibui | 4 episodes |
| 2008 | Sea Patrol | Massita Balanbaan | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | City Homicide | Benji Fa'alonga | Episode: "Tomato Can" |
| 2007-11 | East West 101 | Sonny Koa | 20 episodes |
| 2012 | The Straits | Noel Montebello | 10 episodes |
| 2012 | Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms | Roo | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | München 7 | Senior Constable Bob Wheeler | Episode: "Magic" |
| 2014–20 | Black Comedy | Various characters | 24 episodes |
| 2016 | Hyde & Seek | Maru Salesi | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Little J & Big Cuz | Old Dog (voice) | |
| 2018 | Street Smart | Lenny | Episode: "The Pop-Up Nightclub" |
| 2019 | Reef Break | Mr. Cher | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Blue Water Empire | Various characters, narration | 4 episodes; produced by Lonestar |
| 2021-23 | Strait to the Plate | Self-Presenter | 11 episodes |
| 2023 | In Limbo | Nikora | 6 episodes |
In 2012 he pleaded guilty to wilful damage and disorderly conduct following an incident at a Cairns nightclub and was placed on a good behaviour bond for six months and ordered to pay costs plus damages. The incident happened on the anniversary of a family tragedy, [11] and the magistrate took into account Fa'aoso's previous good character. [5] Cairns Mayor Val Schier described Fa'aoso as "a role model who is highly regarded" [11]
Cairns is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the 2021 census, Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
Edward Koiki Mabo was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Crown acquired sovereignty and that the international law doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australian domestic law. High court judges considering the case Mabo v Queensland found in favour of Mabo, which led to the Native Title Act 1993 and established native title in Australia, officially recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.
The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of 48,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), but their total land area is 566 km2 (219 sq mi).
Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today, there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia than on the Islands.
Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Henry Gibson Dan, known as Seaman Dan, was an award-winning Torres Strait Islander singer-songwriter with a national and international reputation. His first recording, an album called Follow the Sun, was released in 2000, on his 70th birthday.
RAN (Remote Area Nurse) is an Australian television program (drama series) that aired on SBS on 5 January 2006. The series was filmed entirely on Masig Island (Yorke Island) in the tropical Torres Strait north of the Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost part of Australia (State of Queensland), and the border with Papua New Guinea.
Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guinea. The island is a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. The town of Saibai is located on the north-west coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, Saibai Island had a population of 465 people.
Bamaga is a small town and locality about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and is the administrative centre for the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council.
Seisia is a coastal town and a locality in the Northern Peninsula Area Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Seisia had a population of 293 people.
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, which includes many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common; 812,728 people self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal; 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; while 4.4% identified with both groups. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag have been official flags of Australia.
The Northern Peninsula Area Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering areas on the northwestern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It was created in March 2008 out of three Aboriginal Shires and two autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local government reform. In June 2018, the area had a population of 3,069.
The Torres Strait Regional Authority is an Australian Government body established in 1994 to administer the Torres Strait Islands. It consists of 20 elected representatives. The primary function of the authority is to strengthen the economic, social and cultural development of the peoples of the Torres Strait area.
The Straits is an Australian television drama series for ABC1 filmed in Cairns, the Torres Strait Islands and other Far North Queensland locations.
Kaurareg is the name for one of the Indigenous Australian groups collectively known as Torres Strait Islander peoples, although many or most identify as Aboriginal Australians. They are the traditional owners of Thursday Island (Waiben) as well as a number of Torres Strait Islands.
Holy Trinity Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church at Saibai Island, Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1917 to 1938. It is also known as Holy Trinity Church of England. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Umagico is a town and coastal locality in the Northern Peninsula Area Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Umagico had a population of 394 people.
Jacob George Mye was an elder statesman from the Torres Strait.
Blue Water Empire is a three-part Australian dramatised-documentary series aired on ABC TV in 2019, which gives an insight into the history of the Torres Strait Islands. The series features the history of the islands from the pre-colonial era through to contemporary times. It is centred on key stories told by the men and women of the region, brought to life by dramatic re-enactments.
List of Torres Strait topics | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torres Strait Islands, islets, and cays |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| People, culture, communities and languages |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Governance and legal matters |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Buildings and structures | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||||||
