Vale Dr Amanda Schiller

8 May 1984 – 24 October, 2023

Obituary by: Firdaus, former Senior Lecturer at Flinders University

Amanda Schiller was born in The Barossa Valley, South Australia, on the 8th of May 1984. An intellectual scholar and a sociable person, Amanda was easygoing and easy to love. What was not to love about this woman who was always beautiful inside and out, a friendly, genuine person who loved music, food, and adventure, as well as always working hard to achieve her goals? She ‘never let the grass grow under her feet for a moment and was always exploring and adventuring,’ her Mum once said.

Being a creative soul, Amanda would entertain her friends and colleagues with her culinary skills, and collect vintage fabrics from all over Indonesia and other Asian countries. Amanda was also a green thumb; anything that she touched grew beautifully, and gave her a peaceful sanctuary at home in her garden. Though she loved the sanctuary of her ‘home’ wherever she lived, Amanda Schiller was also an explorer at heart. She loved exploring new places and always took up new opportunities to do so, in her work or study. It seems fitting that Amanda chose a career that allowed her to travel and work outside of Australia.

Finishing her undergraduate degree in International Studies at Flinders University in December 2006, Amanda then continued with her Honours degree in International Studies in 2008. Also at Flinders University she earned her Diploma of Indonesian Language in 2013, and then completed her PhD at the University of South Australia in 2013. 

Amanda then worked in various exciting jobs, among others with The Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS), Scope Global, and thrived in her last job with Australia Awards Indonesia in Jakarta over the last two years. She lived fully, worked hard and travelled extensively all over Indonesia whenever she had the time and opportunity.

Last August, she visited me in Surabaya, and we went to the nearby island of Madura where she added to her batik collection. She told me she loved her visit to Sumba Island and would go there again if there was any chance. We tentatively made a loose plan to travel to Sumba in 2024 when she would show me the villages made famous for their vintage ikat tenun (weaving).  When she left Surabaya she gave me a beautiful piece of Sumba tenun.  I was very moved by her generosity and told her, ‘I am from Indonesia, Amanda, you should keep this for yourself.’ But, she insisted on me having it.

As it turned out we never could go to Sumba together, but I will cherish the Sumba ikat tenun, and my memories of her, forever.

In the early morning of 24 November 2023, at Siloam Semanggi hospital in Jakarta, Amanda Schiller quietly departed this world, surrounded by her parents who flew from The Barossa Valley days before, to be at her bedside, and also by her deeply supportive friends and colleagues in Jakarta.

We will miss her greatly but she will always be a part of our lives and our memories.