Mervyn Penrith

Mervyn Charles Penrith was a respected Yuin Elder, land rights and resistance fighter, educator and cultural leader whose life and work have embodied resilience and the continuation of Yuin knowledge. Born in Moruya, NSW, Mervyn’s early years were deeply marked by the legacy of government control and institutionalisation. As one of the Kinchela Boys Home survivors, he has openly shared his story to bring awareness to the trauma experienced by Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families under the Stolen Generations policies.

Despite this, Merv has devoted his life to strengthening community, language, and culture. Through his work with educational programs and oral history projects, such as those featured in the Oral Local Koori History Study, the Indigenous Kinship with the Natural World project and others listed in AIATSIS archives, he has shared traditional stories and philosophies rooted in Yuin Country and the sacred site of Gulaga. His teachings emphasise unity, respect for creation, and the continuity of knowledge held in Country.

“The culture is in the trees, in the bush, in the waters, mountains, the animals and the birds… How can it be gone when all these things, all this oneness, all this creation is still around us?”

Merv’s message is one of survival and reconnection. Through his leadership and teaching, he has helped future generations rediscover identity and belonging, affirming that Yuin culture like the land itself remains alive, enduring, and inseparable from the people who carry it forward.