04/04/2026
Vale Dr Naomi Mayers
It is with heavy hearts the Board and staff of AMS Redfern honour Aunty Dr Naomi Mayers OAM, AKA “Aunty Nay”, following her passing.
We have lost a fearless Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman, who dedicated her life to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people.
Born on Erambie Mission in Cowra in 1941, Aunty Nay’s first paid job was for the Aborigines Advancement League in Melbourne.
A visionary, Aunty Nay was one of the pioneering founders of the Aboriginal Medical Service Co-operative Limited, Australia’s first Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.
With a background in nursing, Aunty Nay was appointed as AMS Redfern’s first Administrator in 1972, later serving as CEO until her retirement in 2017. She always remained connected to AMS Redfern and continued to enjoy many community events following her retirement.
Over 45 years, she guided the transformation of AMS Redfern, from a small shop-front medical clinic - underpinned by the principles of self-determination - into a model of care that has been instrumental in improving health outcomes for Aboriginal communities throughout Australia.
When communities needed help, they called Naomi, who would organise an AMS Redfern team to provide whatever support and resources they could gather - that would help the local community to establish their own local health service - often Naomi was part of the team.
At the same time, she was instrumental in the establishment of other community-controlled initiatives in Redfern, including as a founding board member of the Aboriginal Children’s Service, the Aboriginal Housing Company, a board member of the Aboriginal Legal Service, and was a regional ATSIC representative.
Aunty Nay was a founding member and the first national coordinator of the National Aboriginal and Islander Health Organisation (now NACCHO), the national body for Community Controlled Health Services and a member of the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council of NSW as well as a number of other organisations.
In 1984, she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her services to community.
Aunty Nay led some of the most enduring reforms in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and continued up until the day she retired.
In 1988, she was appointed Chair of the National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party, recognised as the landmark document in Aboriginal Health policy in Australia.
Aunty Nay’s leadership was also recognised internationally by her election as the Australasian delegate to the International Committee on Indigenous Health.
Aunty Nay loved to sing, and was a member of the original Sapphires, the ground-breaking all-Aboriginal music group who performed defiantly, at a time when Aboriginal people and issues were ignored or not spoken about.
In 2023, she was honoured with a NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding services and contributions to our people.
Aunty Nay was a trailblazer in health and a visionary and activist long before the closing the gap policy. One of her legacies will be self determination and community control which she never deviated from as she continued to support many Aboriginal communities across Australia.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this very sad time.
NACCHO Aboriginal Health Australia AH&MRC of NSW
