Those three words sum up Wodonga elder Uncle Allan Murray snr as he continues to advocate for social justice and educate on and promote Aboriginal affairs.

His ongoing efforts in the Border community saw him become one of 11 new inductees into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll on Friday night, March 22.

Uncle Allan is a descendant of the Duduroa/Yorta Yorta people through his mother and Wamba Wamba descent through his father's ancestry.

His mother Merle was born in Echuca and his father Reg in Moulamein. Uncle Allan is the third youngest of seven siblings.

Uncle Allan was born at Mooroopna in 1956 and moved with his family to Swan Hill, Nyah and Tooleybuc in Victoria's west to follow seasonal work.

His family assisted in keeping children in the region safe as they were threatened to be removed by authorities under the Aborigines Protection Act, later known as the Stolen Generations.

They later moved to Balranald where Uncle Allan attended Balranald Central School until he was 15 before he shifted to Melbourne at 17 for an apprenticeship in furniture making. He was then offered work at Elders back at Balranald before moving on to work as a sleeper cutter.

He and his wife Jenny relocated to Albury in 1981 when their eldest child Derek was one and they welcomed three more children, Allan jnr, Matt and Leela, and now have 12 grandchildren.

Albury is where Uncle Allan began to connect more deeply to his culture and he has resided on his ancestral Duduroa lands in the Wodonga region since 2003.

Since returning to country, he said he had experienced a renewed sense of purpose and dedicated himself to expanding his cultural knowledge to create a safer environment for his people.

His goal ever since has been to educate the broader community and encourage understanding and better connections with Aboriginal communities.

"It certainly is an honour to be up there with a lot of the other greats," Uncle Allan said.

"You've put in all of this hard work and it's good to be recognised.

"The lack of understanding keeps me motivated to get stuff out there and inform people of what's going on.

"It's a matter of plugging away and dealing with governments and trying to encourage them to change legislation one way or the other. It's a hard battle, but you've got to keep battling on."

Uncle Allan has been instrumental in the revival of cultural practices and knowledge in the North East.

He was the first Duduroa man to reintroduce cultural fire practice to his traditional land and has contributed his knowledge and understanding of environmental management to help shape biodiversity decisions.

"I'm into everything. It just doesn't stop," Uncle Allan said.

"Like with anything, it's slow progress, so it's just a matter of staying out there and informing people of what's going on.

"It takes a little bit of effort, but you'll achieve what you want to achieve. Never give up."

Uncle Allan was a founder of the Burraja Cultural and Environmental Centre, which first opened in 2002, and was among a group who helped it to undergo a major transformation completed in 2022.

But for Uncle Allan, it's his children who remain his biggest achievement.

"They're all successful in their own right and we're very proud of them," he said.

Uncle Allan said he had a responsibility to ensure future generations remained connected to culture.

"They're the next leaders and we've got to try and encourage them to take stuff on and deal with it as it comes along. It's a big ask, but it's a matter of applying yourself," he said.

Uncle Allan was officially inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll at a ceremony at Arts Centre Melbourne.

"I just want to thank all organisations that I deal with for their support along the way. There's too many to mention, but I'd like to thank them, be it groups like Landcare, the private sector and government," he said.

Since its establishment in 2011, the honour roll has recognised 150 Aboriginal people for their work in a wide range of fields including health, education, justice, sport, the arts, community leadership and the military.