Loretta Parsley

Aunty Loretta Parsley is a respected Walbunga Yuin Elder, artist, cultural educator and storyteller. Through her creative work and community leadership, she has dedicated her life to sharing Yuin history, culture and resilience.

Aunty Loretta is well known for her contribution to the film and television industries, including as a cultural consultant and performer in the productions The Last Outlaws (SBS) and Walbunja Cloak with Loretta Parsley (Screen Australia, 2016), in which she shares Walbunja Culture through traditional possum-skin cloak making. Her storytelling connects historical truth-telling with contemporary expressions of Yuin identity, especially around the legacies of colonial violence and survival.

A central part of her work has been her long journey to reclaim and share the true story of her ancestor Jimmy Governor, whose life and tragic history inspired Thomas Keneally’s acclaimed novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Aunty Loretta’s reinterpretation of his story through a Yuin lens restores cultural and historical balance, centring the impacts of dispossession, racism and survival. Her work is centred on truth telling, understanding and empathy, bringing healing through storytelling and creative practice.

In her role as a cultural educator, Aunty Loretta runs workshops and guided experiences through the Yila Healing Trail and has collaborated with cultural organisations including Bundanon Trust and Koori Radio’s KRAW program. Her teaching focuses on Country, women’s cultural knowledge and the importance of intergenerational storytelling to strengthen identity, connection and community wellbeing.