The last initiated tribal elder of the South Coast, Guboo Ted Thomas, returned to the Dreaming last month, aged 93. A gentle activist and a spiritual innovator, Guboo believed that everyone, black and white, could share the Dreaming once they truly respected the land and began to open their hearts to her mysterious teachings. His mission was to make Aboriginal spirituality relevant to the 21st century. It was a message that many in black Australia were not ready to hear.

His teachings took him around the world many times, with not a penny in his pocket, and made him friends among many cultures. He met spiritual and religious leaders who would later contact him when passing through Australia, as the Dalai Lama did recently.