Brooke Blurton to keynote Aboriginal Health Conference
Brooke Blurton will keynote the 2026 Aboriginal Health Conference in Perth, Boorloo, on August 15–16, focusing on healing through storytelling and truth-telling.
Blurton, a proud Noongar-Yamatji woman and Whadjuk Balardong Noongar, has described the appearance as a “full circle moment.” She became widely known after making history as the world’s first LGBTQIA+ and First Nations Bachelorette and has since become a familiar face across Australian television.
In 2022, she published a memoir, Big Love, and she has also released two young adult fiction novels.
The event will be delivered by Rural Health West in partnership with WA Country Health Service.
Key Points
- Brooke Blurton to keynote 2026 Aboriginal Health Conference in Perth
- Event runs August 15–16, delivered by Rural Health West with WA Country Health Service
- Address to focus on healing through storytelling and truth-telling
- Conference theme is Healing Ourselves, Healing Country, Healing Community
- Blurton to reunite on stage with mentor and MC Ingrid Cumming
- Rural Health West is a not-for-profit funded by government partners
“When people see themselves, or their sexuality or their culture represented, they feel heard and seen, ” she said.
Personal journey
Born in Carnarvon, Brooke experienced a disconnection from her Country, community, and culture from an early age.
She said she was often taken away from her family and placed in foster homes. At an early age she moved to Perth to live with her non-Indigenous father, which also added to this disconnection.
Through a great deal of navigation, Brooke began putting the pieces of her family and culture together, underpinned by a desire to understand where she came from.
In her teenage years, she visited locations her Nana, who was born in Quairading, would speak of.
“For me that was quite healing. I went to the mission she often spoke about and just stood there, understanding the impact this has had on my family,” she said.
She listened to the experiences of others through their storytelling and over time reconnected the pieces of her family, community, and culture together.
“It made me feel so much more whole and healed,” she said.
Now based in Melbourne, Brooke will return to WA to reunite on the AHC stage with one of the biggest mentors in her life, MC Ingrid Cumming.
Advocate for mental health
She first met Ingrid, a proud Whadjuk Balardong Noongar woman, when she was in her early 20s. The pair played footy together and Ingrid helped Brooke gain her first job in the youth mental health space.
“I was going through a pretty tough time, mental-health-wise, after I was made redundant from mining,” Brooke said.
With no job and “not a lot of family” to support her, Brooke feared what was to come.
“Ingrid gave me a foot in the door and helped me gain an admin assistant role at headspace,” she said.
“It actually inspired my interest in youth work, and later in that organisation I worked in community engagement, running NAIDOC Week events, First Nations communityfestivals, and queer youth reference groups.”
Now, an advocate for mental health, Indigenous rights and LGBTQIA+ visibility, Brooke is looking forward to sharing her story in front of a “home crowd”.
Conference details
- Dates: August 15–16
- Location: Perth, Boorloo
- Keynote speaker: Brooke Blurton
- Theme: Healing Ourselves, Healing Country, Healing Community
- Delivered by: Rural Health West, in partnership with WA Country Health Service
More information about the Aboriginal Health Conference, including programme and participation details, is available at the official website: https://www.aboriginalhealthconference.com.au/.
