Doctorate awarded to elder for 50 years teaching 'any child to read'

A trailblazing First Nations elder renowned for being able to teach "any child to read" has been honoured with a posthumous doctorate.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names and images of an Indigenous person who has died, which are used with the permission of their family.

Born in La Perouse in 1941, Yuin elder Aunty Ruth Simms worked for half a century as an Aboriginal Education Officer in NSW public schools.

Dr Simms died aged 85 on September 27 following a long battle with cancer.

She was this week posthumously awarded a Doctor of Letters by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in a ceremony in her home town of Nowra on the NSW South Coast.

Secretary of the NSW Department of Education Murat Dizdar said the ceremony was a perfect way to mark a towering legacy.

"Aunty Ruth was one of the most remarkable educators I've come across in my 30 years in public education in New South Wales," he said.

"I'll miss her deeply."

'The most beautiful woman in La Perouse'

Dr Simms' daughter, Trudy Trindall, said her mother was a gifted athlete, a lover of rock-and-roll music, and was renowned as "the most beautiful woman in La Perouse".

But her life changed in 1976 when she was offered an Aboriginal educator role at Nowra Public School. 

Ms Trindall remembered carrying the letter containing her mother's job offer back from school.

The position had been created along with 60 other roles to combat discrimination against Aboriginal children in NSW public schools.

Ms Trindall said her mother initially faced discrimination herself in her new role.

"She told me that she wasn't even introduced to the staff when she first started," Ms Trindall said.

"She had to work harder than anybody else and prove herself."

Nevertheless, Ms Trindall said her mother quickly forged a reputation as a hard worker with strong convictions, carefully guiding Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

"I was there when she said to this woman, 'I can get any child to read'," Ms Trindall recalled.

"She'd say, 'You leave him with me, I'll have him reading all right.'

"She would tell the kids if they put their mind to it, they can do anything."

Profound influence

Dr Simms worked at several public schools across the Shoalhaven and was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2012 for her contributions to Aboriginal education.

This year she became a published author with her children's book Muttonfish Magic, which detailed her early life playing and collecting food on the shores of La Perouse.

Months before her death, Dr Simms was contacted by UNSW to inform her she was being awarded a Doctor of Letters.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UNSW's Indigenous division, Leanne Holt, said there was unanimous agreement about the decision to award Dr Simms the university's highest honour.

"This is about legacy,"

Professor Holt said.

"Aunty Ruth contributed so much to not just the local curriculum, but the national curriculum and international knowledge as well.

"My PhD was on the development of Aboriginal education policy in Australia, and people like Aunty Ruth definitely had such a profound influence on where we are now."

Despite her deteriorating health, Dr Simms planned the ceremony meticulously: choosing the guest speakers and selecting her daughter to accept the award on her behalf.

"It was bittersweet," Ms Trindall said.

"I thought if Mum was here, she would have looked deadly in that cap and gown."

Dr Simms was laid to rest in a ceremony in Nowra on September 30.