Ken Wyatt

Noongar, Yamatji, Wongi man, Kenneth George Wyatt AM (b. 1952) is an Australian politician. He was born at Roelands Mission, in the southwest corner of Western Australia. Prior to entering politics, Wyatt worked in health and education; initially as a primary school teacher in the state system and then moving into leadership roles in Aboriginal education within the Department of Education in Western Australia, before becoming a Director of Aboriginal Health in both New South Wales and in Western Australia. In 2010, he became the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives and the first to serve as a government minister, and the first appointed to cabinet. Wyatt was appointed Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Indigenous Health in the Turnbull Government in January 2017, after previously serving as an Assistant Minister since September 2015.

Wyatt was elevated to cabinet in May 2019 as Minister for Indigenous Australians, the first Indigenous person to hold the position. Wyatt received the Order of Australia in 1996 for his work in improving the quality of life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and for his contributions to the fields of health and education.

Alex Ellinghausen (b. 1982) is an editorial photographer with Fairfax Media. He has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery since 2010, filing for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review. In this portrait, Wyatt is photographed dressed in a booka made of kangaroo skin and the feather of a red-tailed black cockatoo, which symbolises leadership, given to him by Noongar Elders from Western Australia. This was taken on the day of Wyatt’s first day in Parliament – Ken was walking past the Press Gallery offices and Alex asked him for some time to do a quick portrait shoot.

Purchased 2022
© Alex Ellinghausen