Lisa Wiltse

Aborigines, Western New South Wales, Australia

American born photo-journalist Lisa Wiltse has been based in Australia since 2005 and is a staff photographer with the Sydney Morning Herald. Wiltse began her career freelancing and generating self-funded projects focusing on humanitarian issues in Central America, Uganda, India, and most recently Bangladesh. Her work has been awarded several honors including first prize at PX3 Prix de la Photographie, the Paris Oxfam Humanitarian Award, the Gordon Parks International Photography Contest, and the Australian Walkley Award.

About the Photograph:

The Aboriginal population of Western New South Wales is growing for the first time since white settlement, despite persisting high mortality rates. Unfortunately, the social landscape Aborigines inhabit is a blighted one, worn out by multi-generational defeats, failures and neglect. The drought has made a hard land even harder. The biggest population explosion is among the young, with 54.8 per cent of Aborigines aged under 25. Thirty-four per cent of births are to unmarried mothers, double the non-indigenous figure. For some of these people, issues such as alcoholism, unemployment and access to education are still barriers. As with any new generation, there are often new challenges to overcome.

The above photograph is part of a audio slide presentation called Pay Day on Arunga Street

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