Bob Randall
Highly Respected Indigenous Leader
National Patron for 2008
Bob Randall is a highly respected elder of the Mutitjulu community and one of the traditional owners of Uluru.
As a singer-songwriter, Bob gained national fame in the 1970s with his iconic song "My Brown Skin Baby (They Took Him Away)." The song relates his experience as one of the 'Stolen Generation'.
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.'
In accepting the invitation to be a National Patron of the Run, Bob said:
"I thank you very much for the offer and I willingly and gladly accept, because what you stand for is an ultimate reason why we're here on earth - to live in peace with love for one another and care - learn to care for all living things, care for each other, care for our environment and care for everything else that is around us, so that we can apply the principles of Kanyini to all life forms, because we are all one... and our living together - and life - is the proof of that oneness. I thank you and I accept your offer."