Camilla
Chance was born in England in 1940, and educated
in London, Switzerland, Italy and Australia,
where she graduated in Arts from Melbourne
University. She became a member of the Baha'i
Faith at the age of 22.
Since
graduation, Camilla has been a lyric writer
for an international performing group, the
Kuban Cossacks, a high school teacher, an
editor, a wife and mother, and a book reviewer
for two prestigious Australian newspapers
– The Age and The Australian. From 1980
to 1982 she reviewed books by and about Aboriginal
people, aiming to create understanding of
the then often misunderstood Australian Aboriginal
culture.
Camilla
met Aboriginal Elder Banjo Clarke in 1975,
and at his request wrote down his story and
philosophy. This turned out to be a 27-year
long labour of love, the book Wisdom Man.
It became an immediate best-seller in Australia,
and in 2005 the second edition won the American
USABookNews.com Award for best multicultural
work. In that year Camilla was also the first
non-Aboriginal to receive the prestigious
Unsung Hero Award from Aboriginal people for
her dedicated friendship and work for them
"behind the scenes".
Camilla
has given a great many talks, often introduced
by Aboriginal people, both all over Australia
and internationally. She believes the only
truly effective things in this era are deeds
done from the whole heart, with selfless motives,
and she strongly agrees with Banjo Clarke
that there are no bad people in the world
– only unhappy ones. She also thinks
that indigenous people who are true to their
old laws are living the closest to how we
all need to live now, for our planet to survive.
