Ida Toby (1899–1976), also known as "Queen", was an Australian linguist who collaborated on the documentation of the Warluwarra and Wangka-Yutjurru languages.
Biography
Toby was born in 1899 at either Walgra or Carandotta station in Queensland. She was of Warluwarra and Wangka-Yutjurru (of Wangkamana group) descent.[1]
Between 1967 and 1975 she worked extensively with Gavan Breen to help document the Warluwarra and Wangka-Yutjurru languages.[2][3][4] She is said to have had an acting ability which allowed her to make up and act out imaginary conversations in those languages.[1] In honour of this work, she is listed in the Australian Women's Register.[5]
In 2013 a pictorial dictionary based on her work with Breen on Warluwarra was published by Desert Channels Queensland in partnership with The Georgina Diamantina & Cooper Aboriginal Group.[6]