Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher

Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher, Thanakupi, or wattle flower, was her away, or birth ritual name.

At an early age, Thancoupie learned the sacredness of clay as she saw men in her tribe keep mud in a unique storehouse where kids were not allowed.

This made Fletcher recognise the clay’s spiritual connection to her culture, land, and language. Her interest with clay helped her become the first Aboriginal ceramic artist.

Her early years were spent as a pre-school teacher and part-time artist, and it was not until 1969, when in her mid-thirties, that she gathered the courage to move from her remote home in the Cape to the urban environment of East Sydney Technical College.

Dr Thancoupie, together with Tiwi potter Eddy Puruntatamerri, founded the Indigenous ceramic movement of Australia. Her intricately designed ceramic sculptures told old people’s stories from Weipa.