Doriana Bush

BORN               1952

REGION            Tiwi Islands

LANGUAGE       Tiwi

SKIN GROUP     Takaringuwi (Scaly Mullet)

DANCE:             Jilarti (Brolga)

Doriana’s father was Pukupunari (Paddy Bush), one of the last of his family to grow up living on their ancestral homelands of Paluwiyanga/Andranangoo (Goose Creek) – a wetland region and popular remote hunting ground east of Milikapiti. Her grandfather, her father’s father was Gupurrawunga who together with her grandmother and father escaped conflict with pastoralist Joe Cooper by hiding in a crocodile nest near their homeland camp of Minniyanpy. During the war, many people in this strong cultural family group were given names by the soldiers and are now known as the Bush, Black, Brown and Cook family.

Doriana was born on Country “over the other side” (of the bay) from Milikapiti. She was delivered by her grandmother. She grew up in Milikapiti, in the old village. Doriana trained as a health worker at Royal Darwin Hospital in the 60s, and thereafter worked at the Milikapiti clinic as a health worker. Later in life Doriana joined Jilamara Arts to paint, telling stories for exhibition publications as well as teaching culture classes with local school children. She is considered one of the few community elders who still recalls and can sing the old songs for ceremony and story-telling.