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Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.
A prominent Aboriginal elder has died in the COVID-19 ward of a Sydney hospital a fortnight after speaking at a large public rally against mandatory vaccinations.
Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, a Yuin man from the South Coast of NSW, died in the Sutherland Hospital on Saturday morning, his family has confirmed. Mr Harrison died from bronchial asthma and underlying complications, they said. He was 85-years-old.
Uncle Max Harrison photographed last year.Credit:James Brickwood
Mr Harrison was a cultural adviser “on health and cultural-related issues” for the Informed Medical Options Party (IMOParty) and was promoted as a key speaker at the “Millions March” rally in Sydney’s Hyde Park on November 27.
Mr Harrison was a respected Yuin elder and cultural man who had taught for many years at schools on Dharawal Country in the Sutherland shire and elsewhere in the state. Mr Harrison was the author of the 2009 book My People’s Dreaming and more recently lectured at the University of Technology Sydney.
Mr Harrison’s daughter Cheryl said her father’s last ceremony was held last Saturday.
“He was a very humble person who gave so much to others. He was very family-oriented and leaves behind eight generations of family bloodlines,” Ms Harrison said.
In a statement online, IMOParty founder Michael O’Neill described Uncle Max as a cultural adviser to the movement, which opposes mandatory vaccination and claims every second Indigenous child either experienced death or injury as a result of vaccination.
NSW Health reported two men had died from coronavirus on Sunday and that both men had been unvaccinated.
There are 156 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital in NSW with 23 people in intensive care and seven on ventilators.
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