Irene Watson in 1985 first Aboriginal law graduate/PhD from Adelaide University; advocate at the UN

In 2016, professor Irene Watson was appointed first Indigenous pro-vice chancellor at the University of South Australia.
Image courtesy Professor Irene Watson, University of South Australia

Irene Watson, a Tanganekald and Meintangk woman from the Coorong region and south east of South Australia, was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the University of Adelaide with a law degree, in 1985. She also was the first Aboriginal PhD graduate (2000) at the university, winning the Bonython Law Prize for best thesis.

Her research was driven by a better understanding of the Australian legal system that is underpinned by the unlawful foundation of terra nullius. Watson's work made a significant impression on everyday legal practice by bringing an Indigenous perspective to the long processes of law reform.

In 2015, Watson published the first work to assess the legality and impact of colonisation from the viewpoint of Aboriginal law. She was involved in the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia since its start in 1973, as a member, solicitor and director.

She has taught in all three South Australian universities and was a research fellow with the University of Sydney Law School. In 2016, Watson was appointed first Indigenous pro-vice chancellor at the University of South Australia where she was professor of law and associate professor in Aboriginal studies.

Watson continued to advocate for first nations peoples in international law. She was involved with the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 1990-94 and, in 2009-12, intervened before the UN Human Rights Council Expert Advisory Committee of the current position of Indigenous peoples.