Harold James Phillip"Tiga" Bayles (6 October 1953[1] – 17 April 2016) was anIndigenous Australian radio presenter and activist. He was a descendent of the Birri Gubba and Gungalu nations of Queensland.[2]
He was raised inTheodore, Queensland,[3] the son ofMaureen Watson.[1]
With his mother, Bayles, who became known as Tiga, establishedRadio Redfern, an Indigenous radio program onSydney community stationRadio Skid Row. In 1982, he was involved with theAboriginal movement protests around the1982 Commonwealth Games.[3] Both Tiga and Maureen Watson also appeared on2SER.[4][5]
He was chairman of theNSW Aboriginal Land Council and a key organiser of the Aboriginal Bicentennial protests in Sydney in 1988.[1][6]
Moving back to Brisbane, Bayles helped establish theBrisbane Indigenous Media Association (BIMA), which operated the radio station98.9 FM (Brisbane), with the guidance of his uncle Ross Watson. Bayles hosted the programLet's Talk, which discussed issues relevant to First Nations people.[1]
He co-founded theMurri School inAcacia Ridge, and served as chair of the board for many years.[3]
He was a founding board member of theNational Indigenous Radio Service, and was the Asia Pacific representative of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasting.[1] He was a founding chairperson of the Community Media Training Organisation andNational Indigenous Media Association.[7]
Bayles was the inaugural winner of theDeadly Award for Indigenous Broadcaster of the Year, and in 2014 he received the inaugural Amnesty International media award.[1]
He was named Queensland Father of the Year in 2005.[1]
Bayles died of cancer on 17 April 2016, aged 62.[3]
He had nine daughters.[1] One daughter, Yarraka, is the mother of actorQuaden Bayles, who has dwarfism.[8] Yarraka is also a facilitator at cultural organisation Black Card.[2]
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