Country Arts SA recognises that we are living and creating on First Nations Lands and we are committed to working together to honour their living cultures.
Vale Lillian Crombie
WARNING: This article contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has passed.
It is with much sadness that the team at Country Arts SA offer our condolences to the family and friends on the passing of celebrated performer Lillian Crombie.
Aunty Lillian, a Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara woman, grew up in Port Pirie. There she studied acting, dance and drama, training in classical ballet at the Port Pirie Ballet School, moving to Sydney at the age of 16 on a dance scholarship.
She then trained in New York, at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and studied with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in the 1980s.
As an all-round performer, Aunty Lillian was a trailblazer for First Nations stories.
She appeared in multiple productions on stage, film and TV as a distinguished artist around the country and overseas.
In 2019, Aunty Lillian was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Equity Foundation for her contribution to the arts.
She was always keen to have her very own dance school, and so she set up the Lillian Crombie School of Dance and Drama to provide performing arts training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in regional South Australia.
In 2015, she founded the Lillian Crombie Foundation to support Indigenous families’ travel needs for Sorry Business.
Aunty Lillian will be forever remembered for her cheeky, joyous approach to life, the legacy she created and her immense contribution to the arts. She will be missed.