ARCHIE ROACH

TOTEM Eagle / Wuldi / Bunjil

Born 8^th January 1956

The music of singer-songwriter Archie Roach AM has given voice to the pain, hope and pride of a generation and earned him a place among the most treasured musicians this country has produced.

A proud Maar Nation and Bundjalung man, Archie was born in Mooroopna, Victoria on the 8^th January 1956. Archie's family lived on the Framlingham Aboriginal Mission near Warrnambool in southwest Victoria. He is one of the Stolen Generations, forcibly taken as a two year old from his mother, Nellie, a Kirrae Whurrung woman, and father, Archie, a Bundjalung man from New South Wales.

Archie passed through several foster homes before being settled with the Cox family, who he acknowledges as having looked after him well. He learned the basics of keyboard and guitar from his foster-sister, Mary Cox. Too young to understand his situation, he was told his biological parents had died.

The truth about his forced removal from his family was discovered when he was a teenager, in a letter from a sister he didn't know he had. It brought news of the recent death of his mother, Nellie. The revelation triggered an identity crisis that manifested itself in over a decade of alcoholism and periods of homelessness.

While living on the streets in Adelaide, Archie met Ruby Hunter, a Ngarrindjeri / Erawirung woman from South Australia. He credits her as his saviour. Ruby was also of the Stolen Generations and a talented musician. The two became soul mates and embarked on a journey of healing through music. Years later, when they were married with a family of their own, their house would remain open to disadvantaged young people in need of the support they themselves had found in each other.

Archie caught the attention of musician Paul Kelly and his Messengers' band mate, Steve Connolly, in 1989, with his song, ‘Took the Children Away’. Its plaintive account of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families resonated across Australia and internationally. Many identified closely with Archie's searing lyrics; many more could not help but be moved by them.

In 1990, Archie released his debut album, Charcoal Lane. Kelly and Connolly were producers. The album took its title from a laneway in Fitzroy — the heartland of Melbourne's Aboriginal community — where Archie had, in more troubled times, idled away the hours drinking. Charcoal Lane won two ARIA awards, a place among the US Rolling Stone's top albums of 1992, and a Human Rights Achievement Award for ‘Took The Children Away’. It was the first time the award had been presented to a songwriter.

Archie’s career as a recording artist spans ten albums, numerous soundtracks and a number of compilations of his work.  He was inducted into the ARIA hall of fame in 2020 and made a Member of The Order Of Australia in 2015 for his lifetime contributions to music and activism. Beyond these honours, Archie's music has won countless awards including seven ARIAs. His breakthrough debut album Charcoal Lane (1990) maintains a lasting resonance today.

The album’s iconic song “Took The Children Away” was the first song to win an Australian Human Rights Award and has been added to the National Film & Sound Archive.

Archie’s autobiography Tell Me Why, (2020) introduced him as an author. The award winning memoir details Archie’s extraordinary odyssey as a stolen child, removed from his family at the age of two, whose journey to reconnect with his people and understand his identity shaped the artist, activist and leader we know today. Archie’s activism, always a companion to his creative career, continues through The Archie Roach Foundation, dedicated to nurturing meaningful opportunities for First Nation artists.

Throughout it all, Ruby remained a constant in Archie's life until her sudden death in 2010. They often collaborated, and Ruby received her own acclaim when she became the first Aboriginal woman to sign a major recording deal. They regularly toured together, everywhere from Europe and the US, to the remotest regions of outback Australia. More recently, they were among the founding members of the Black Arm Band, while Ruby's beautiful illustrations featured in a children's lyric book of Archie's iconic song, ‘Took The Children Away’.

In prose and song, Archie has made telling the stories of his people, of this land and of the human condition his life’s work. His voice, uniquely Australian yet unquestionably universal resonates with audiences everywhere. Archie now lives southwest Victoria close to the Framlingham Aboriginal mission where he was taken from his family all those years ago.

On  29 April 2022 a monument celebrating Ruby's achievements was unveiled in Barmera.  You can view a video of this occasion by clicking here.