On this episode of Women on the Line we chat with Maxine Chi (Chai) who is a contributor to the Our Story: Aboriginal – Chinese people in Australia, an exhibition that has been curated by Zhou Xiaoping and held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra until 27 January 2026. 

Maxine is a Bardi Aboriginal woman who has Chinese, Japanese and Scottish ancestry. She was born in Broome, Western Australia in 1954, a place which has a rich history of people from around the world, mainly Asia and Australia, coming to live and work in the pearling industry from the late 1890s. Maxine currently teaches the Graduate Certificate in Aboriginal Studies at Notre Dame University, Broome Campus, online and face to face with her students. She has worked in various government positions in State and Commonwealth Governments as well as the Kimberley Land Council, the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (Inc), Department of Housing (WA) and is a member of the Bardi and Jawi Niimidiman Aboriginal Corporation the native title body for her countrymen and women.