Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Digby Moran is one of our most celebrated artists on the Northern Rivers, and he has a new exhibition showing at the Lismore Regional Gallery. The exhibition focuses on his childhood growing up in the Aboriginal Bundjalung community of Cabbage Tree Island, south of Ballina. Digby considered his childhood on the island as some of the best times in his life. He recounts that he and his siblings were always in the river, swimming and having fun. After leaving Ballina High School, Digby did a lot of cutting of cane by hand, and he dabbled in amateur boxing in Ballina and entered some of the boxing shows around Lismore, Mullumbimby and Casino.

Digby didn't start painting until he turned 40. His artistic achievements have been showcased overseas in Germany and Austria, and he has been commissioned to do large public murals. Many of his paintings are linked to individual memories. He manages to capture the mood, time and place of his past, as this latest exhibition does. Digby's partner, Kerry; his children, May, Edward, Edie and Liz; his stepdaughter, Taryn; his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren are all very proud of him. Digby is a local legend. He has inspired many in our local community, and I thank him.