Ronnie Summers is a descendant of the Trawl-wool-way and Palawa people of north east Tasmania. Born in 1944, he grew up on Cape Barren Island, one of the largest islands in the Furneaux Group in eastern Bass Strait. Like many children of the Islanders, Ronnie started working at a young age during mutton-birding season. Ronnie has worked in many jobs, but music is his driving force and he continues to carry on the traditions of the Cape Barren music. Ronnie's recent work in schools passing on the cultural history of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people has won him a National Reconciliation Award and Centenary of Federation Award.