Meet Marianne

Marianne Wobcke is an Indigenous midwife, registered nurse, artist, and creative researcher whose four decades of work has centred on improving perinatal, infant, and community wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Born in Meanjin on Turrbal and Jagera lands and connected maternally to the Girrimay people of North Queensland, Wobcke’s life and practice are deeply shaped by her experience as a member of the Stolen Generations, removed at birth from her young mother. Her research and creative practice draw upon this lived experience, combined with Indigenous knowledge systems, midwifery practice, and cultural teachings grounded in Sacred Women’s Business and Birthing on Country principles.

A doctoral candidate at Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium and Queensland College of Art, Wobcke’s PhD investigates parent/infant mental health through Indigenous, relational, and posthumanist frameworks. Her thesis centres on the lived experiences of three first‑time Indigenous mothers, examining the entanglements of Country, embodiment, kinship, and intergenerational trauma. Her research explores how multisensory and immersive technologies can transform perinatal care, particularly through the agency of storytelling, ancestral presence, and more‑than‑human relationships.