The Team - Ernie Dingo

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Ernie Dingo has earned enormous respect as a performer capable of extraordinary versatility. His talents as an actor, television host, reporter and comedian have made him one of Australia's best known and most loved performers and a popular member of Seven's The Great Outdoors.

Yahoo!360

Ernie Dingo's Blog

Posted: March 24 07:03PM EST

Nivea Volunteers, Chiang Mai Thailand

Gooday!

As you saw on the show tonight, I was lucky enough to spend some time with Patricia Woodham, who thanks to the Nivea Vitality Project got the chance to live in the hills outside Chiang Mai, Thailand and teach English to kids of all ages.

Nivea Visage Vital along with New Idea and Yahoo!7 rewarded four women over 50 years of age with unforgettable volunteering experiences. The winners travelled in pairs to Thailand or South Africa where they lived for four weeks and participated in one of two humanitarian and conservation assignments.

After speaking to Patricia, I learnt a lot about Thailand. Did you know that they have the second worst rate of English literacy in South Asia? Also, while compulsory education is provided free of charge from government schools, most children still don't attend a school after finishing primary school because their parents can't afford the school supplies, food and living expenses which aren't covered by the government.

Often the kids have to work on the land to help their family survive which means the education that could help them becomes a luxury that's just too expensive. Interestingly, Thailand is becoming more of an urban society so learning English is becoming increasingly more important for the people to be able to adapt to these changes.

Going out to see Patricia teaching the kids was an experience for me. Planting flowers with the kids was fun because they were just so excited about us being there. I also tried to teach them how to say 'yellow pot plant' as well as a few other Aussie words, which they thought was pretty funny. I wasn't sure if I was actually helping them but Patricia told me that because the kids are so curious about foreigners, they pick up English much more quickly.

I really admire Patricia and the other volunteers for the contribution they are making. In honour of these lovely women, I've made them 'friends' in my Yahoo!7 360 blog - so their blogs will be linked to via mine. Be sure to check them out!

Patricia and the other great women were placed by The Involvement Volunteers Association who have placed over 200 Australian volunteers around Chiang Mai in the last 14 years. So if you'd like to make a difference through international volunteering, best to give them a call. If you'd like to find out more about volunteering within Australia, click here for links to volunteering organisations in your state.

And one final thing, if you decide to give volunteering a go, please be sure to start up a Yahoo!7 360 blog so we can read all about your adventures. If you've never blogged before, here are some tips. Trust me, it's dead easy and loads of fun!

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Ernie grew up in Mullewa, in the Geraldton region of Western Australia. He moved to Perth when he was 17 and his first job was as an apprentice sign writer, which he says developed from his interest in painting.

He was selected for the state basketball team in 1973 and 1977 and was also very involved in traditional Aboriginal dancing. He joined the Middar Aboriginal Dance Theatre in 1978 and made his first trip overseas on the company's tour of Germany, which he says "was a real eye-opener".

In 1979, Ernie was offered the lead role in the play Kullark in Perth. His subsequent theatre work includes a national tour of Jack Davis' The Dreamers, a US tour of State of Shock in 1985 (which also played in Sydney and at the National Playwrights' Conference in Canberra in 1984), Bran Nue Dae, Tourmaline, a visit to Poland with the Gardzienile Zubrycka Theatre Association as part of a Foreign Affairs cultural relations program in 1987 and working as a stand-up comic at Sydney's Trade Union Club.

Ernie's first major television role was in Tudawali (1987) for which he received an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actor In A Television Drama. He accepted on behalf of the production a Special Jury Prize at the Banff Television Festival in Canada.

His numerous other television credits include The Cowra Breakout (1984), Dirtwater Dynasty (1987), Clowning Around (1991), A Waltz Through the Hills (1987), for which he won an AFI Award for Best Actor In A Television Drama, the comedy series Fast Forward (1989), The Flying Doctors (1992), Heartland (1994), the lavish Barron Entertainment production of Kings in Grass Castles (1996), Always Greener (2001) and Blue Heelers (2000 and 2003).

Ernie has been with The Great Outdoors since it began in 1992. Ernie was also the host of The World Around Us on the Seven Network from 1998 until 2001 and has fronted numerous other Seven productions, including two Olympic specials and Melbourne's Comedy Gala.

In 1999, Ernie worked on the hit Seven Network production Kidspeak, a funny and candid insight into the things children do and say. He was a roving reporter and Andrew Daddo was the host.

2007 saw Ernie compete in the second series of the Channel Seven smash-hit singing series, It Takes Two. Alongside partner Rachael Beck, Ernie was one of the last four celebrities remaining.

Ernie's film credits include Dead Heart (1996), The Fringe Dwellers (1985), Crocodile Dundee II (1987), Tommy Tricker and The Stamp Traveller (1987), Capuccino (1988), Wim Winder's Until the End of the World (1990), Mr Electric (1993) and Somewhere In The Darkness (1998).

2008 will see Ernie begin work on his first film in more than a decade, Bran Nue Dae, a landmark Australian theatre musical. Written by Jimmy Chi and his band mates from Kuckles, it was the first Aboriginal musical when it premiered in Perth in 1990. Ernie is a passionate advocate for his people and is vigilant about the portrayal of Aboriginals in film and television. He has won numerous awards and accolades and in 1997 was declared one of Australia's Top 100 "national living treasures".

In 1990, Ernie was awarded the General Division of the Order of Australia by Her Majesty the Queen. In 1994, he was voted 'Aboriginal Of The Year' by the NAIDOC Committee and 'Personality Of The Year' by the Australian Caption Centre. In 2004 he was again recognised for his work when he was awarded the Deadly Award for 'Outstanding Contribution To Film And Television'.

He was awarded the 1999 People's Choice Award for 'Favourite TV Presenter'. His fellow nominees in the category were Ray Martin, Daryl Somers and Bert Newton.

Ernie loves sport and has been playing basketball since he was nine years old. He is also devoted to AFL and is an ardent West Coast Eagles supporter.

He is married to writer Sally Dingo and they have two children, Wilara and Jurra.