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The director of Curtin University of Technology’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies has been appointed to the Western Australian Museum’s Board of Trustees.

Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said today that Associate Professor Anita Lee Hong would bring a wealth of experience and knowledge in both indigenous affairs and government to the museum’s board.

The minister said Ms Lee Hong was a prominent advocate for indigenous issues at both a national and international level, including representing Australia at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York last year.

“As a member of the Western Australian Museum’s Board, Associate Professor Lee Hong stands to make a considerable contribution in a number of key areas,” Mr Day said.

“This is particularly so as the board plans for the State’s new museum.

“The assistance and input from the Board of Trustees will play a crucial role in the project’s success in creating a facility that will be an international and national destination.”

Associate Professor Lee Hong was born in Cairns, where she spent most of her life until she moved to Perth to take up a lecturing position with the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in 2002.

A descendant of the Badjala and Darraba language groups located throughout Queensland, she worked in the Australian Public Service for 13 years in areas including the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the Commonwealth Employment Service and Centrelink.

In 2007, having completed a Master of Human Rights Education - one of the first indigenous people in Australia to be awarded this degree, Associate Professor Lee Hong was appointed director of Curtin’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies.

The Associate Professor said she looked forward to the challenges presented by her new role.

“The State’s Museum is a diverse and complex institution and I am delighted to be a member of the Board of Trustees during a time that will no doubt prove to be one of the most exciting in the organisation’s long history,” she said.