Hyacinth Tungutalum

Hyacinth Gabriel Tungutalum (14 August 1946 – 7 April 2009) was an Australian politician and the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to a state or territory parliament.

A traditional owner on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin, Tungutalum was elected as the Country Liberal Party (CLP) member for the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly's Electoral division of Tiwi at the 1974 Northern Territory election, serving until his retirement at the 1977 election.

Tungutalum was heavily involved in Australian rules football in the Tiwi Islands and served as President of the Tiwi Islands Football League for many years, winning the ATSIC National Administrator of the Year Award in 1995 for his services.

Tungutalum died in 2009 of a heart attack.

Sources

• Lee, D. & Barfoot, M. (1996) NTFL, Northern Territory Football League: Darwin. ISBN 0646 26754X.