Ruby Hunter, 1988

Ruby Hunter was a Ngarrindjeri/Kukatha/Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia taken from her Aboriginal family at 8 years of age and fostered into a white family. While homeless and living on the streets, Ruby met her lifelong partner and musical soulmate, Archie Roach, who discovered her first written songs hidden in their hostel room. Archie recorded Ruby’s 1989 song Down City Streets on his debut album, Charcoal Lane. Ruby released her first solo album, Thoughts Within, in 1994 and was the first Aboriginal woman to be signed to a major record label.