Vale Gavin Jones

Deadly Sounds founder Gavin Jones has died aged 47.

The Deadly Sounds radio show spawned a magazine, tv show and the renowned Deadly Awards, which all aimed at developing positive vibes for aboriginal people by highlighting role models in the community.

Jones was found dead at his farm in Goulburn after recently learning that government funding of the organisation he founded had been cut. There are no suspicious circumstances.

Jones told radioinfo in 2012 that the Deadly organisation all started with a community radio show: “People need role models, people to look up to, not just celebrities… It all began with preserving and promoting our oral tradition to unite our people around Australia… An indigenous voice will always be at the heart of what we do.”

He was born on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Gundungurra peoples at Goulburn, in southern New South Wales. His family’s aboriginal roots were in Bigga, Binda, Crookwell and Tuena. After finishing school, Gavin started a journalism cadetship at the Goulburn Post newspaper before completing a communications degree at the University of Canberra in 1989. He then began working in journalism across various Government departments.

The company he founded in 1993, Deadly Vibe, forged new ground in its holistic approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advancement. Gavin Jones’ vision and mission for Deadly Vibe was to ‘support all Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in reaching their full potential by providing positive imagery, identifiable role models and quality media to improve community and quality of life.’

Tributes to his achievements and more information about his career are contained in an obituary on the DeadlyVibe website.

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