Helena Murphy, 91, received the John Curtin medal for establishing the first mixed-race club in segregated post-War Perth in 1947.
She is a living legend and icon of the Aboriginal fight for equality and human rights, but you won't hear it from her.
"No I never thought of myself as anything except I got very tired of being, 'you can't go here you can't go there because you're black'," she said.
"I said many times, 'you're mistaken, mate, you're colour blind... you're calling black when I'm brown'."
Segregation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people forced Helena and other members of the Aboriginal community to band together and establish the Coolbaroo League which went on the establish the first-mixed race establishment.
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It was immortalised in a documentary film of the same name.
Watch: The full report above.
