Extract from Hansard [COUNCIL - Tuesday, 1 April 2003] p5760b-5760b Hon Ken Travers

DR PATRICIA VINNICOMBE Statement by Parliamentary Secretary HON KEN TRAVERS (North Metropolitan - Parliamentary Secretary) [3.16 pm]: On behalf of the Minister for State Development, the Minister for Culture and the Arts, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and the Government of Western Australia, I note the recent passing of Dr Patricia Vinnicombe. Dr Vinnicombe was an honorary research associate with the WA Museum and was recently appointed by the Minister for State Development to the Burrup Rock Art Monitoring Management Committee. Dr Vinnicombe passed away suddenly this past weekend during a meeting of the committee on the Burrup Peninsula. Dr Patricia Joan Vinnicombe was born in 1932 in South Africa. She studied occupational therapy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, graduating in 1954. From 1958 to 1961 Dr Vinnicombe diverted from medical auxiliary work to documenting prehistoric rock art in the Drakensberg Mountains. She went on to participate in excavations in the Nile Valley prior to the construction of the Aswan Dam. In 1977 Dr Vinnicombe was awarded a PhD by the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University. She was also appointed a tutor at King’s College and was among the first three women fellows admitted to that institution. Dr Vinnicombe emigrated to Australia in 1978, where she worked on a project sponsored by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and directed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales. In 1980 she was appointed as a research officer to the Department of Aboriginal Sites in the Western Australian Museum. In 1995 Dr Vinnicombe was appointed as an honorary research associate with the WA Museum’s anthropology department. Since her retirement she has worked closely with the Museum with a grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to work on ceremonial dancing items. Most recently Dr Vinnicombe was an influential and positive advocate for the future of Aboriginal rock art located on and around the Burrup Peninsula. Dr Vinnicombe made a significant contribution to the Government’s understanding of the area’s rock art and strengthened the Government’s resolve to determine whether industrial emissions have been causing damage to the rock art; and, if so, to identify ways to prevent such damage. I am advised that Dr Vinnicombe made an inspirational contribution to the Burrup rock art forum that was held on the Burrup this past weekend, leaving a lasting impression upon all those who attended. Her experience and perspective are likely to prove difficult to replace. Dr Vinnicombe will be profoundly missed by the many communities in which she has worked. On behalf of the Government of Western Australia, I extend my sympathy to Dr Vinnicombe’s surviving family, friends and colleagues. Consideration of the statement made an order of the day for the next sitting, on motion by Hon Bruce Donaldson.

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