The Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education congratulates Mr Edward (Ted) Lovelock on graduating from the Masters of Indigenous Knowledges at the recent Batchelor Campus Graduation Ceremony. After all Certificates and Diplomas were presented to the graduates, Ted gave a stirring speech describing his academic journey and gave thanks to those that supported him through that process in the student’s response.

As part of his Masters work, he wrote the novel Water Dragon Dreaming: The Adventures of Gunggar and Jala and an exegesis titled Connecting the Footprints. The novel explores, through its animal narrator, Indigenous trade and the trade routes within Australia before European settlement. The story is positioned within a growing field of Indigenous writing. The exegesis extended on the novel’s research to include a critical analysis and theoretical positioning of the thesis. Taken together, the combined works contribute to knowledge of Indigenous cultures and their trade practices and provide both scholarly and non-academic resources for building respect for Indigenous cultures through education.

Ted has been supported by many staff and fellow candidates along the way, including his supervisory team Adjunct Research Fellows Dr Eva McRae-Williams, Associate Professor Sandy O’Sullivan and Professor Sonia Tidemann.