The Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) Oration is an annual address aimed at educating the Queensland legal community. It seeks to foster dialogue and raise awareness about the current legal issues affecting First Nations peoples.

The Oration honours the memory of Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott), Australia’s first Aboriginal barrister. It pays tribute to his achievements, passion for providing opportunities for others, and resilience and strength of character in the face of adversity. The family of Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) has given permission for this annual address to be named the Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) Oration.

You can watch recordings of previous Orations here.

2025 Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) Oration 

The 2025 Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) Oration will be held at the 2025 National Indigenous Legal Conference Gala Dinner, on Thursday 27 November 2025, to be hosted at the Pullman Hotels & Resorts in King George Square. Tickets will include canapes, a 2 course dinner, a 3 hour drink package, and live entertainment. You can purchase tickets to the Conference and Gala Dinner here.

The 2025 Mullenjaiwakka (Lloyd McDermott) Oration will be delivered by Joshua Creamer. Joshua is a proud Waanyi and Kalkadoon man, and a decorated barrister specialising in complex human rights class actions and native title for First Nations peoples. In 2024 he was appointed Chair of the Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry in Queensland.

He is a member of the Griffith University Council and has previously held roles as a Commissioner at the Queensland Law Reform Commission, Chair of the Indigenous Affairs Committee of the Queensland Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Legal Aid Queensland.

In 2022, along with his wife Kara Cook, together they established the Joshua Creamer and Kara Cook Excellence in Law Award at Griffith University which aims to increase the number of female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander barristers practising in Queensland.