Timber veneer panel in painted white frame bearing the inscription: ‘The Lord is my shepherd…He leadeth me. (Psalm 23 v 1)’

Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first Indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. Bonner’s grandmother, Ida, was his primary carer for much of his childhood. She was a devout Christian and she passed her faith onto Neville, who was a committed Christian all his life. Bonner was also taught the Aboriginal laws and customs of his people and had a strong belief in Aboriginal spirituality which he felt sat well with his Christian beliefs. Both belief systems gave him great strength throughout his life.