ILONA McGUIRE - Alyandabu

Alyandabu 

(Pronounced: Uhl-yun-duh-boo) 

Alyandabu, also known as the Queen of Kungarakan and Ilona McGuire's great-great grandmother is described as ‘around six feet tall (183 cm), straight as a gun barrel, black, proud, barefooted, wearing a simple cotton frock and a wide-brimmed stockman’s hat. In her hand, she carried a few items tied in a red handkerchief, and she puffed contentedly on a pipe as she walked’ (Singer-songwriter, Ted Egan). 

This image of Alyandabu embodies the ever presence of powerful tribal matriarchy that Ilona inherits through her Ancestors. This is an authority that Alyandabu will be forever recognised for throughout the Northern Territory. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that some works by Ilona McGuire contain imagery of a sensitive nature and of deceased persons.