Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme
Photo by Fiona Walsh
Veronica Perrurle Dobson (AM) is an Eastern Arrernte linguist, educator, author and ecologist. Veronica was born in 1944 at Arltunga in Central Australia. For well over forty years, she has worked in many inter-related fields – language documentation and teaching, lexicography, interpreting, ethnobiology and land management.
“For me, what I have done has not been like work. I do what I do because I love my language and know how important it is – this is the knowledge I learned from my grandparents. They taught me about the bush and the plants and their uses. I want others to be able to learn about Arrernte culture. I do what I do for the future generations, for my kids, for their kids and so on. Once it’s been documented its safe, its written down…”
Veronica is a strong advocate for language and culture, her expertise is widely recognised, and she has been awarded for her services to the community as a teacher and research collaborator. She wants the fruits of her work to be looked after, and accessible for future generations.
Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme (Gathering all the things together) is a guide to Veronica’s life’s work.
Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme project team: Angela Harrison (Batchelor Institute), Camille Dobson (Batchelor Institute), Veronica Dobson, Jennifer Green (The University of Melbourne), Ben Foley (University of Queensland). Photo by Charlee-Anne Ah Chee.
Acknowledgements
Research, consultation and website design by Camille Dobson (Batchelor Institute), Veronica Dobson, Angela Harrison (Batchelor Institute), Jennifer Green (The University of Melbourne), and Ben Foley (University of Queensland). We thank all those who provided content and feedback, including John Henderson, Barry McDonald, Fiona Walsh, Anthea Dobson, Penny Watson (AIATSIS), Marlene Chisholm (AIATSIS), and the Central Land Council.
Funding
The Language Data Commons of Australia (LDaCA) project receives investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through its HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons program. The ARDC is funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Batchelor CALL is funded through the Indigenous Languages and the Arts program.
This project is an International Decade of Indigenous Language project.
How to cite this page
Dobson, Veronica, Camille Dobson, Jennifer Green, Angela Harrison and Ben Foley. 2025. Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme (Gathering all the things together). Alice Springs: Batchelor Institute. (https://www.veronicadobson.au/.) (Accessed YYYY-MM-DD).
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