Bob (one of the elders from Uluru) was taken from his family by white authorities when he was seven years old. As an adult he began the long process of finding his family again, being educated and establishing a career as an Aboriginal educator.

Back in the 1960s, he wrote the song 'My Brown Skin Baby They Take Him Away' that has become one of the rallying cries of the stolen generation.

Woven through his story is a clear account of Aboriginal world view and philosophy. He explains things with great simplicity and explains Aboriginal principles and beliefs including the network of responsibilities binding together all things and their connections.

I first heard of him when I saw a DVD entitled Kanyini and that led me to read his autobiography 'Songman: the story of an aboriginal elder'. It was through his words that I began to gain an understanding of the lives of Aboriginals prior to the arrival of white people and how that arrival has affected every aspect of the Aboriginal culture that had existed for 40,000 years.

When I heard that he was coming to town and giving a talk, I was thrilled. I got to meet him last week when he attended an indigenous event at the nab and had the honour of chatting one-on-one with him. Then yesterday I saw him do a short set where he sang three songs and talked for a while. Today he gave an hour talk down next to the Yarra as part of the sustainable Living Festival.

The talk covered that his people lived by the law Kanyini and that was the environment that he grew up in. Kanyini is having unconditional love with all your family and your family contains all living things within your area e.g. people, rivers, animals, mountains, trees, etc. He talked about family structure and education. He spoke of being stolen. He talked about how death is seen. He covered our place in the world and how we interact with all that is around us. It was a very educational and moving account.

I am rather thrilled that he signed my copy of his book and I had my photo taken with him.

Bob is an incredible man and it was a pleasure to finally meet him.

He is a member of the Yankunytjatjara people and one of the listed traditional owners of Uluru.

His mother, Tanguawa worked as a housemaid at Angus Downs cattle station for Bob's father, station owner, Bill Liddle.

At a young age, Bob was taken away from his mother under government policy, whom he never saw again.

In 1970, Bob helped establish the Adelaide Community College for Aboriginal people and lectured at the college on Aboriginal cultures.

He began to gain recognition for his songwriting in the early 1970s especially for "My Brown Skin Baby".

His work with Aboriginal communities has taken many forms. He served as the Director of the Northern Australia Legal Aid Service and established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander centres at the Australian National University, University of Canberra and University of Wollongong.

He continues to present his cultural awareness programs at schools and other institutions and in workplaces.

His life-long efforts were recognised in 1999 when he was named 'Indigenous Person of the Year' at the 1999 National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) awards.