Aunty Lorraine
Aunty Lorraine is a Quandamooka Elder of the Noonuccal and Ngughi tribes in South-East Queensland. Enlisting into the Royal Australian Signals Corps, Aunty Lorraine maintained a distinguished and successful career serving 20 years in the Australian Army.
Aunty Lorraine joined the Australian Army on 14th January 1986 and was posted to the 7th Signals Regiment as an Operations Signaller before transferring to a Joint Service position at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin. In 1992, Lorraine was promoted to Corporal and posted to 72 Electronic Warfare Squadron. Throughout this period, she was a competitive sports woman, representing the Army in both Squash and Athletics.
Changing roles within the Signals Corps to a Radio Operator, Aunty Lorraine was posted to the 6th Signals Regiment before posting as a Detachment Commander with the 1st Signals Regiment, Enoggera.
In 1997, Aunty Lorraine was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and subsequently posted to Headquarters Northern Command. During this period, she was the first female Signals Sergeant to deploy as the Communications Manager in Irian Jaya, for humanitarian and famine relief operations and then on to the Multinational Force and Observers, Sinai.
In 2003, Aunty Lorraine was the first Indigenous female to be promoted to Warrant Officer Class Two and posted to the Battlefield Command Support System Project Team in Townsville. The following year, she was posted to the 5th Aviation Regiment and deployed to Afghanistan as the first female Communications Manager with the Special Forces Task Group to establish the communications network in Kandahar.
Aunty Lorraine retired from the Australian Army in 2007, however, continues to provide service to the wider community as a mentor to the Preston Campbell Foundation and the Gold Coast Titans Deadly Futures and Community Programs. In addition, Lorraine is the Board President of the Queensland State Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Committee that is currently coordinating the construction of this memorial in ANZAC Square Brisbane. Moreover, Lorraine is the Patron of the Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways project, advocating education for Indigenous youth from remote locations of Australia.
Aunty Lorraine is the Indigenous Ambassador for the Corporate Protection Australia Group, a signatory with Prime Ministers Veterans Employment Program. She is a highly regarded and respected role model for the community.
In 2019, Lorraine was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for her service to the Indigenous Community.
Army welcomes Aunty Lorraine as the second Indigenous Elder for the Australian Army.