{"id":485280,"date":"2026-02-17T07:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/485280\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T07:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:43:12","slug":"hundreds-attend-state-funeral-for-ted-egan-former-nt-administrator-folk-musician-and-land-rights-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/485280\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds attend state funeral for Ted Egan, former NT administrator, folk musician and land rights champion"},"content":{"rendered":"

About 500 people have attended a state funeral for Australian folk music pioneer and former Northern Territory administrator Ted Egan in Alice Springs.<\/p>\n

Mr Egan died at home in Alice Springs in December at the age of 93, surrounded by his family, leaving behind memories of his larger-than-life personality and strong advocacy for Territorians, including many First Nations communities.<\/p>\n

\"Portait<\/p>\n

A portrait of Ted Egan was unveiled by his great-grandchildren at his state funeral on Tuesday. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/p>\n

The service started with a musical tribute to Mr Egan, before his wife Nerys Evans addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n

“Ted Egan was the best of human beings,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The excitement he generated and the love he inspired I think were the eighth and ninth wonders of the world.<\/p>\n

“Rest easy darling Ted.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nerys Evans says her late husband left behind a legacy of songs, film and literature that will help keep him “alive forever” in her heart. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/p>\n

‘A humble and grounded Territorian’<\/p>\n

A long list of high-profile Territorians attended the funeral service, including Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, Chief Justice and Acting NT Administrator Michael Grant, Speaker of the NT Legislative Assembly Robyn Lambley, and other current members of parliament.<\/p>\n

Giving the first eulogy, Mrs Finocchiaro said Mr Egan was “a national living treasure”.<\/p>\n

“For more than half a century, Ted helped shape the cultural and civic life of our territory,” she said.<\/p>\n

“He recorded more than 30 albums, authored 15 books, presented national television programs, contributed to the establishment of Maningrida in 1957 and served on the first Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation from 1991 to 1997.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lia Finocchiaro says Ted Egan showed leadership could be “both dignified and approachable”.\u00a0 (ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/p>\n

Mrs Finocchiaro said Mr Egan was a gifted communicator and a tireless advocate whose work had preserved history, amplified Indigenous voices and deepened Australia’s understanding of the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n

“Yet for all these accolades, Ted remained a humble and grounded Territorian,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Ted wore many hats across his remarkable life, from storyteller, singer-songwriter, historian, teacher, patrol officer, public servant, mentor and cultural custodian.<\/p>\n

“In each role he undertook, he brought authenticity, warmth and a strong commitment to community.”<\/p>\n

\"Prince<\/p>\n

During his time as NT administrator, Ted Egan met the then-prince Charles when he visited Alice Springs in 2005. (ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin)<\/p>\n

A ‘bi-cultural contribution’<\/p>\n

Senior Djapu man Barayuwa Munu\u014bgurr, who knew Mr Egan from his time in north-east Arnhem Land in the 1960s, also spoke at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Mr Munu\u014bgurr said what was different about Mr Egan was his “bi-cultural contribution” and “his genuine willingness to listen”.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Barayuwa Munu\u014burr described the late Ted Egan as a “brother in our family”. (ABC News: Will Green)<\/p>\n

“He wasn’t just Ted Egan government official, he was Ted Egan, a brother in our Yol\u014bu family,” he said.<\/p>\n

Beer box musician and land rights champion: Ted Egan’s ‘big and generous life’<\/a><\/p>\n

A former Government House occupant and a prolific author and historian, Ted Egan will also be remembered as the man who reinvented the beer box as a musical instrument.<\/p>\n

“He worked in the right way, he worked with us, he lived with us, he learned our language, our culture, he began to understand our deep connection to country.<\/p>\n

“For most of you here today, you will remember Ted as a musician, author, footballer, TV star, academic and historian, but for \u2026 the Yol\u014bu of East Arnhem he will be remembered as a loyal friend who listened, stood with us, empowering our people, and for that we will be forever grateful.<\/p>\n

“Few people can come and go and leave such positive impacts.”<\/p>\n

Reflections from friends and family<\/p>\n

Peter Forrest, a friend of Mr Egan’s for nearly 50 years, remembered him as a “remarkable listener”.<\/p>\n

“This was part of Ted’s gift; he really was interested in what people told him,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ted<\/p>\n

Ted Egan was a prolific folk musician. (ABC News: Kim Honan)<\/p>\n

“Through the years he dredged his memory back and put together something like 350 songs \u2026 those stories were wonderful narratives of the lives of people he’d met or heard about since coming to the territory.<\/p>\n

“And now Ted has left us a treasure trove of firsthand accounts of territory lives \u2026 they’re infused in humanity, steeped in sympathy and, often, supercharged with humour.”\"A<\/p>\n

Peter Forrest says he was friends with Ted Egan for 48 years. (ABC News: Will Green)<\/p>\n

Mr Egan’s eldest child, Greg Egan, said his father had made people feel seen and respected.<\/p>\n

“It’s why he was so well-regarded in Aboriginal communities, in fact, in any company, and it taught us, the family, the same values,” he said.<\/p>\n

“He showed us that he could be everyman, comfortable with all people, putting them at ease too.<\/p>\n

“He once got a Scandinavian king to sing. The staff travelling with him in the territory had never seen this before.”\"A<\/p>\n

Greg Egan, the eldest son of the late Ted Egan, says his father left an “incredible legacy”. (ABC News: Will Green)<\/p>\n

Mr Egan said his father had a “glass-overflowing personality”.<\/p>\n

“Our father leaves an incredible legacy which we’ve celebrated today, but in true glass-overflowing fashion, there are still great things to contemplate,” he said.<\/p>\n

Instead of flowers, Mr Egan’s family requested mourners make donations to the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"About 500 people have attended a state funeral for Australian folk music pioneer and former Northern Territory administrator…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,245716,245714,134,245717,183359,245715,183358,245711,245710,245712,245713],"class_list":{"0":"post-485280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian-musician","11":"tag-australian-singer","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-folk-musicians","14":"tag-nt-administrator","15":"tag-nt-state-funeral","16":"tag-ted-egan","17":"tag-ted-egan-funeral","18":"tag-ted-egan-memorial","19":"tag-ted-egan-memorial-service","20":"tag-ted-egan-songs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}