Terry is a Yorta, Wemba Wemba and Wergaia man and one of five children raised by his mother Lorraine Forrester (nee Stewart) and his grandmother Nellie Stewart (nee Jackson). He was born in Hobart, Tasmania in 1957 before his mother and grandmother returned to Melbourne and moved to Shepparton in the early 1960s.

 

Terry acknowledges all the women who played a key role in his life, including his mother, grandmother and community aunties whose love and support grounded him throughout his journey. Terry hopes he has lived up to their expectations, truly believing he is a product of the 2018 NAIDOC theme ‘Because of Her We Can’.

 

Terry is currently the Deputy Secretary of the Local Infrastructure Group of 600 staff in Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) with responsibility for service delivery and providing advice to the Victorian Government in relation to the portfolios of local government, suburban development and the titles office.

 

Terry has worked in the Victorian Public Service since 1989 when he was appointed Executive Director of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria – a position he held for seven years. Terry provided the operating foundations for Aboriginal Victoria to become the well-established and recognised agency it is today.