DCM > Women > Tribute > 2003 > Cristina Black

Cristina Black (b. 1938)

Cristina was born in Polangui, Albay, in the Philippines in 1938. In Manila she obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Education. Cristina travelled extensively, living in the Africa , the USA and Japan . She came to Australia in 1974 with her husband Paul Black whom she had met and married in Ethiopia . She subsequently accompanied her husband on research trips, living in Aboriginal communities for one and a half years.

Cristina worked as a part-time teacher, then as an office worker and as a community volunteer. She taught part-time in the preliminary course run by the former School of Australian Linguistics at Batchelor. Later on she obtained a Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics from the then University of the Northern Territory . She is the President of the Filipiniana Senior Citizens Association, and was President of the Filipino Community Council of the NT. She served as a member of the Multicultural Advisory Committee for Centrelink, and was a member of the Reference Group for the Non-English Speaking Background Women on Cancer Prevention for Women. Cristina is on the Executive Board of the Multicultural Christian Fellowship.

Activities that she has initiated within these organisations have helped project a positive image of Filipino citizens. Examples of her community service include initiating the "Reaching Out" project through which Filipino senior citizen dancers visit care centre residents and entertain them with songs, dances and games. Cristina was also a driving force in establishing the Filipiniana Collection, which consists of historical artefacts, souvenirs and costumes from the Philippines . The collection now resides in the Casuarina Public Library. Helping refugees was another, year-long project she initiated with the Filipino seniors.

In 2002 she was awarded the Community Leadership Award from the Filipino Communities Council of Australia (FILCCA), the peak body association of the different Filipino State and Territory Councils. Likewise she was also the recipient of the 2002 Multicultural Volunteer Award from the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory.