WHEN Olivia Coe Fox steps onto the stage at Kambu Health’s 50th anniversary gala, she won’t just be performing.
She’ll be carrying generations of stories, language and culture with her.
The former The Voice Australia standout has been announced as the headline entertainment for Kambu Health’s landmark celebration on August 1, joining Indigenous entertainers Sean Choolburra and Kevin Kropinyeri for an evening celebrating one of Ipswich’s most significant Aboriginal community organisations.
For Coe Fox, the invitation holds deep personal meaning.
“It’s a massive milestone,” she said.
“Fifty years is such a huge achievement. To be asked to perform at Kambu’s 50th anniversary is something really special, not just for Kambu but for the wider community.
“It proves we’ve come such a long way, and I’m very proud to be part of celebrating that.
Although millions of Australians first met Coe Fox through her stirring audition on The Voice, she had decided on her song long before the cameras rolled.
“I always knew I wanted to perform I Am Australian,” she said.
“There was a lot of planning involved. Learning First Nations languages isn’t like learning French where you can just look it up online. I had to work with communities, gain permission and make sure everything was culturally correct.”
Music has been part of Coe Fox’s life since Year 7, when she joined the Vocal Identification Program (VIP), an initiative for First Nations students across Western Sydney.
Alongside the program, she attended a performing arts high school and undertook weekly private singing lessons throughout secondary school.
“I had so much support from my teachers and mentors. They were always there encouraging me.”
While audiences know her as a singer, Coe Fox is also preparing for another career.
Currently working as an Aboriginal Education Officer, she will graduate as a qualified teacher later this year.
Teaching, she said, had always been her first dream.
“My Mum was an Aboriginal Education Officer and my older sister is an assistant principal, so before I even knew I could sing, I wanted to be a teacher,” she said.
Rather than seeing music and education as separate callings, she believes they complement one another.
“Kids love music,” she said.
“If I know songs in that region’s language, I’ll teach them.”
Coe Fox said education was about far more than the classroom.
“It’s something like one per cent of Australia’s teachers who are First Nations.
“It’s important that young people see themselves represented.”
That sense of responsibility extends beyond performance, as Coe Fox sees every song she sings as another step in preserving Australia’s oldest living culture.
