Justine Saunders
Saunders in a scene from TV series Number 96.
Born	Justine Florence Saunders 20 February 1953 Quilpie, Queensland, Australia
Died	15 April 2007(2007-04-15) (aged 54) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1974–2002
Known for	Number 96 (TV series), as Rhonda Jackson Prisoner (TV series), as Pamela Madigan
Awards	Aboriginal Artist of the Year Award (1985) Order of Australia (1991, rejected 2000) Red Ochre Award 1999

Justine Florence Saunders (20 February 1953 – 15 April 2007) was an Australian stage, television and film actress. She was a member of theWoppaburra, anAustralian Aboriginal people, from the Kanomie clan ofGreat Keppel Island inQueensland.^[1] On the small screen she appeared in numerous series,mini-series andtelemovies.^[1]

Saunders having started her career in theatre, made her screen debut in the television serialRush in 1974, but first came to prominence as a cast member ofsoap operaNumber 96 in 1976, as Rhonda Jackson. in a brief story arc portraying a character defending the rights of indigenous Australians. Subsequently, in 1986 she became best known for her role as social worker Pamela Madigan in the serialPrisoner.

Other television credits include:Skyways,Women of the Sun (1981),Farscape,Blue Heelers, andMDA.

Her film work includesThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith andThe Fringe Dwellers.^[1]

Saunders was born next to a railway track. At the age of 11, as a member of theStolen Generation, she was removed from her mother Heather and taken toBrisbane and placed in aconvent. Heather was not told of Justine's whereabouts for more than ten years, and spent much of that time searching for her.

In April 2007, Saunders died of cancer at Hawkesbury District Hospital, Sydney, aged 54.^[2][3]

In 1991, Saunders was awarded a Medal of theOrder of Australia (OAM), for her services to the performing arts, her services to theNational Aboriginal Theatre, and for her assistance in setting up the Black Theatre and theAboriginal National Theatre Trust.^[1]

In 2000, through the indigenous SenatorAden Ridgeway, she returned the medal in protest at the emotional turmoil her mother was suffering over theHoward government's denial of the term "stolen generation".

• 1985 inauguralAboriginal Artist of the Year award.^[4]
• 1999Red Ochre Award -Australia Council for the Arts^[5]

^[6]

• Justine Saunders atIMDb

• 1953 births
• 2007 deaths
• 20th-century Australian actresses
• 21st-century Australian actresses
• Australian film actresses
• Australian soap opera actresses
• Australian stage actresses
• Deaths from cancer in New South Wales
• Indigenous Australian actresses
• Members of the Stolen Generations
• Actresses from Queensland
• Actresses from Sydney
• Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia

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