The indigenous playwright who penned acclaimed musical Bran Nue Dae, which was adapted into a popular film in 2009 featuring Jessica Mauboy and Geoffrey Rush, has died in hospital aged 69.
Jimmy Chi died "peacefully" at Broome Health Campus on Monday, his family said.
"Jimmy is much loved by his family, friends and the Broome community," they said in a statement on Tuesday.
"He was a brilliantly intelligent man who had a wicked sense of humour and time for everybody.
"He was more than an artist for Australia, he was a family man."
Born in 1948 to a Scottish-Bardi Aboriginal mother and Chinese-Japanese father, he was widely celebrated for his work as a musician, playwright and composer.
At the age of 21, he was in a car accident that left him unconscious for three weeks.
He then began creating original music and co-wrote the song Bran Nue Dae in 1977.
The songs of the Kuckles band led to the musical Bran Nue Dae, which took six years to bring to the stage.
It is a coming-of-age story about a Bardi boy, who is expelled from school in Perth and takes a road trip home to Broome, which becomes a journey exploring his heritage.
He also wrote the revered musical satire Corrugation Road about an Aboriginal schizophrenic patient in a hospital, which was inspired by his own battle with mental illness.
In 1990, he received a Human Rights Award for contributing to the understanding of human rights issues in Australia, and received the WA Premier's special book award for Bran Nue Dae in 1991.
In 1997, he won the Australia Council for the Arts' red ochre award for the lifetime achievement of an indigenous artist.
He received a Deadly Sounds National Indigenous Music Award in 1999 and an Australian Centenary Medal in 2000.
He was also made a WA State Living Treasure in 2004 for his contribution to performing arts as a playwright, musician, creator of landmark indigenous theatre and ambassador for cultural diversity in Broome.
He is survived by his three children and long-term partner.
