Jewish activist Pat Zinn was born in 1929 and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. Her commitment to the cause of Reconciliation grew from the sixty years she spent in Cape Town, where she lived under the Apartheid system of racial segregation from its inception in 1948 to 1994. During that period she worked to subvert the system by supporting children and women living in the townships.
In the next phase of her life in Sydney, Pat wanted to understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia but found it a challenge as so much history was hidden or silenced. In 1995, she joined the Older Women’s Network (OWN) and the Aboriginal Support Circle (ASC) as a means of learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life and culture.
She embodied the motto of OWN’S Aboriginal Support Circle: listen – learn – understand – and admired the respectful relationship Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with their female elders, who play a pivotal role in their communities. Pat lived the values she espoused and was a formidable social justice warrior under her calm, dignified exterior.
After her passing, the Pat Zinn scholarship was established in 2020, through which 100% of the donations go towards covering educational expenses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The scholarships are administered by the Aboriginal Education Council.