Eric Willmot

Eric Paul Willmot, (31 January 1936 – 20 April 2019) was an Australian scholar, educator, writer, and engineer

Early life and education
Eric Paul Willmot was born on 31 January 1936 in Queensland. He was educated first at various Queensland schools, then obtained his BSc and DipEd at the University of Newcastle, in New South Wales.

In 1980 he obtained his Master of Education (Research) in 1980 at the University of Canberra.

Career
After obtaining his Master of Education, Willmot joined the faculty of the Australian National University. At the time he was considered the first Indigenous principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies from 1981 to 1984 (later known as AIATSIS).

Willmot later joined the James Cook University as Professor of Education.

He retired from public administration in 1994 to then do engineering research in private enterprise. He spent a lot of time in his shed working on his inventions, but few ever made it to market as (in the words of his daughter, Haidi), he "was not a businessman".

Other positions held by Willmot included Director of Research at the ANU, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and Chief Education Officer in the ACT Department of Education.

According to Haidi, writing was "his joy, his passion, and his escape".

Personal life and death
Willmot married twice. He had four children with his first wife. He met his second wife in Papua New Guinea in the 1970s, and had a daughter, Haidi, with her, and the family spent some time in Vanuatu.

He died at Baulkham Hills, New South Wales on 20 April 2019.

Heritage
Willmot claimed Aboriginal heritage, which formed a significant portion of his personal and professional identity. Evidence later emerged which strongly indicated that he in fact did not have any Aboriginal blood.

Honours and awards
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 * 1981: Australian Inventor of the Year
 * 1984: Member of the Order of Australia, for "service to education and in the field of Aboriginal studies"
 * 1986: Gave the annual series of Boyer Lectures, titled "Australia: The Last Experiment"
 * 1986: Gave the inaugural Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture, titled "Future Pathways: Equity or Isolation"
 * 1987: FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award to an Aboriginal Writer
 * ?: Winner, Medaille d'Or Genève, by the Salon des Inventions in Geneva, twice, for his invention of a