Justine Saunders, one of Australia’s most prominent indigenous actresses of the 1970s and 1980s, has died in Sydney after a battle with cancer.
Born in Queensland in 1953, Saunders came to prominence in the 1970s in the Nine Network series Luke’s Kingdom before scoring an ongoing role as Rhonda in Number 96 in 1976. Later TV roles followed in Against The Wind, Prisoner and Women Of The Sun.

Movie roles included The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith and The Fringe Dwellers.

Saunders was also involved in theatre, helping to establish the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust and the Black Theatre, as well as a number of stage roles.

In more recent years, Saunders appeared in television series such as Farscape and MDA.

(Picture: TV Week, 5 June 1976)