James Tandy
Encyclopedia
James Tandy MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (13 January 1918 - 6 April 1997) was Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n public servant who became Commonwealth Director of Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

.

Early life

Jim Tandy was born at Muswellbrook, New South Wales
Muswellbrook, New South Wales
Muswellbrook, a corruption of 'Muscle Brook', is a town and Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia. The original spelling and etymology of the town's name is a matter of some debate...

 and attended Newington College
Newington College
Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 (1932-1933). He began his working career in the banking industry.

Army service

He joined the army in 1940 and saw action with the 2/1 AA in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and in the bombing attacks on Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and was discharged in 1946. After the war he married Beatrix Kroening.

Public service

He joined the Commonwealth Public Service and studied at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 at night. He gained a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree and an Education Diploma. In 1967 he joined the then Education and Science Department and in the following years toured many Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

 settlements in northern Australia. As Commonwealth Director of Aboriginal Education he introduced a bi-lingual educational program for Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 Aboriginal students which meant the formal recognition of Indigenous Australian languages and cultures
Australian Aboriginal culture
Aboriginal Australia comprises hundreds of tribal divisions and language groups, with a diverse range of cultural practices.-Practices and ceremonies:*A Bora is an initiation ceremony in which young boys become men....

.

Honours

Tandy Close Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
Bruce is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Bruce was gazetted as a division on 6 June 1968 in recognition of Viscount Stanley Melbourne Bruce, the first Chancellor of the Australian National University and eighth Prime Minister of Australia. S. M. Bruce served as...

, is named in his honour. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 in 1977 in recognition of his services to Aboriginal languages and culture. He died in Hervey Bay, Queensland
Hervey Bay, Queensland
Hervey Bay is a city in Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and lies on the coast of a natural bay between the Queensland mainland and nearby Fraser Island. The local economy relies on tourism, for which whale watching, Fraser Island and...

.
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