June Bird Ngale b. c1954

June Bird was born at Waite River in the Northern Territory, and later moved with her family to the outstation at Akaye (Mulga Bore) on the Utopia homelands, some 240km north-east of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Her father, Tommy Bird Mpetyane, passed away early in her life, and she came to call Lindsay Bird Mpetyane her father. Her mother, the famed artist Ada Bird Petyarre, passed away in 2010.

June is an artist who paints in many styles, to capture the essence of her country and its culture. She is very knowledgeable in expressing her cultural law and loves to communicate this knowledge through her paintings. June also is an enthusiastic participant in the practice of her cultural ceremonies in song and dance. June is a great colourist and likes to use bright colours when painting.

June has participated in many exhibitions over her career and her work has been collected by many national and international galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.