Eve Mumewa Doreen FeslAM, (born Evelyn Serico in 1930 or 1931), is an academic in sociolinguistic policy and implementation and the first Indigenous Australian to receive a PhD from an Australian university in 1989. She is a member of both the Gubbi Gubbi (through her mother) and Gungulu (through her father) nations.[1]
Evelyn Serico was born in 1930 or 1931,[3] the first child of Maurice and Evelyn Reen (née Monkland-Olsen) Serico.[4] Evelyn Reen was a Gubbi Gubbi person, while Maurice was of the Gungulu nation.[1] She has a younger brother.[4] Her mother was forcibly removed to the Barambah Aboriginal Reserve (now called Cherbourg) under the Aboriginals Protection Act, and she grew up on the reserve. An Englishman who brought books to the reserve inspired her mother to give her children a good education, so she moved her family to Brisbane for that reason.[5]
After moving to Brisbane, Fesl encountered racism at Ashgrove State School. She took up athletics to demonstrate that she could beat one of her classmates. She later learnt German and topped the state in her year of HSC but failed English. Her German score allowed her to study linguisticsatMonash University. She later completed honours in anthropology, graduate diploma in international law and finally a PhD in 1989, documenting her mother's native Gubbi Gubbi language.[6]
In her youth, she was a versatile track and field athlete, competing in running, throwing and jumping events.[8] She competed for Kelvin Grove in Queensland athletics.[9] She moved to Melbourne in 1956 in an attempt to get into the Australian Olympic team.[3] Her throw of 116 feet 3 inches (35.43 m) was fifth in the qualifying event on 13 October 1956.[10]
