Aunty Ruth Simms Planned Her Honorary Doctorate Ceremony, Down to Who Would Accept It

Months before she died, Yuin elder Aunty Ruth Simms got word that the University of New South Wales (UNSW) would award her a Doctor of Letters, an honorary degree. She then planned the ceremony herself. She picked the guest speakers and chose her daughter to accept the award.¹

Simms died on 27 September, aged 85, after a long battle with cancer. This week her daughter, Trudy Trindall, accepted the posthumous honor on her behalf at a ceremony in Simms’ home town of Nowra, on the NSW South Coast.¹ The ceremony had been scheduled for Tuesday 13 October at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, and it went ahead at the Simms family’s request.²

The award recognizes about 50 years of work as an Aboriginal Education Officer in NSW public schools. Professor Leanne Holt, UNSW’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous), presented it and said there was unanimous agreement to give Simms the university’s highest honor.¹

“This is about legacy,” Holt said, according to ABC Illawarra.¹

A job created to fight discrimination

Simms was born in La Perouse in 1941.³ In 1976 she was offered an Aboriginal educator role at Nowra Public School. The position was created alongside 60 others to combat discrimination against Aboriginal children in NSW public schools.¹

The job did not start smoothly. Her daughter said Simms faced discrimination herself at first, including not being introduced to staff when she began.¹

She stayed, working at several public schools across the Shoalhaven region. In 2012 she received an Order of Australia Medal for her contributions to Aboriginal education.¹ ABC Illawarra and her publisher, Magabala Books, both describe her as the longest-serving Aboriginal Education Officer in NSW.¹³

Trindall recalled her mother’s own summary of her talents: “I can get any child to read.” She also remembered the message Simms gave students: “She would tell the kids if they put their mind to it, they can do anything.”¹

Murat Dizdar, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, said, according to ABC Illawarra: “Aunty Ruth was one of the most remarkable educators I’ve come across in my 30 years in public education in New South Wales.”¹

A children’s book about La Perouse

Simms added another title this year: published author. Her children’s book, Muttonfish Magic, tells of her early life playing and collecting food on the shores of La Perouse. She co-wrote it with Lucy Robertson, and Dharug creator Jasmine Seymour illustrated it.¹³

A community’s farewell

Simms was laid to rest in Nowra on 30 September, and Shoalhaven Council flew its flags at half-mast after her death.²³

At the ceremony she had arranged, her daughter accepted the award in her place. “I thought if Mum was here, she would have looked deadly in that cap and gown,” Trindall said, according to ABC Illawarra.¹