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Matilda House MATILDA HOUSE “Welcome to Country” Her opening statement says a lot about Matilda House-Williams: “I’m a tough little bugger, I always have been ... and a very proud Aboriginal woman”, and because her heritage and extended family is her essence she is quick to add: Of the Ngambri Ngunnawal Wiradjuri people; of the country of my great grandfather “Black Harry” Williams, and the daughter of Pearly Simpson- Williams a Ngunnawal-speaking woman of the Wallabalooa people. I was sitting next to Matilda House-Williams at barbeque at the Artists Shed, Queanbeyan, New South Wales. Friends were amused that mosquitoes were winging their way past them to alight on the Ngambri elder and me. We were not amused and traded insect repellent. One blood-laden mosquito sluggishly left Matilda’s arm to land on mine and I had no qualms in destroying this life form. Matilda congratulated me, laughed out loud and said “we have the same blood, sister”. I laughed also. Our heritage could not have been more different, nor the genes we carried, but yes, the mosquito had not discriminated. And I was complimented by the carefree comment. When I first asked Matilda if I might include her in my book I detected uncertainty. I had watched the Ngambri elder bravely offer a “Welcome to Country” at the opening of the 42nd Parliament on 12 February 2008. She was the first Indigenous Australian to be so asked – a poor reflection on Australia and our governments. Matilda was guarded. As I grew to know her better, learnt more of her life and those of her people, I understood – Matilda was a survivor and the layer of reserve was derived from self-preservation. I could never truly appreciate her life as hard as I tried. My grandmother spoke of the “gins” who did her housework and who helped care for my father when he was a baby. She was the wife of the bank manager in Normanton in far north Queensland. She was a tireless worker for the Presbyterian Women’s Association which raised money to separate Aboriginal children from their mothers so the children “could be given a proper Christian upbringing”. Like most non-Indigenous Australians I considered the 2008 “Welcome to Country” and the apology which followed and struggled with the paradox: could I be proud of my forebears without endorsing their beliefs and actions? Should those of us of British ancestry suffer discomfort when we face our history? I understood this dilemma at a very personal level. Clearly the questions needed to be answered; perhaps, they were unanswerable. Previously the pomp and circumstance inherited from another nation was closely observed but protocol had changed for this the 42nd Parliament. A large audience filled the imposing marble surrounds of the Great Hall of Parliament House and a new prime minister stood awaiting Aboriginal elder Matilda House. With the haunting tones of a didgeridoo heralding her entrance the Ngambri woman approached slowly. She wore a full length possum coat, the out-turned orange collar bearing the artwork of her people. Two grandchildren accompanied her. They represented another generation – one who it was hoped would face greater opportunities and fewer nightmares. One carried a message stick and this was presented to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The elder commenced the “Welcome to Country”. Her words and those spoken the following day, a day which would be known as “Sorry Day”, were intended to bridge a chasm within a nation. “I would like to welcome you to the land of my ancestors, the land of the Ngambri people.” Matilda’s voice faltered slightly; perhaps it was nerves and for that she could be forgiven because never before had an Aboriginal woman or man spoken in front of such an assembly. The Ngambri people believe their ancestral land, this place now called the Australian Capital Territory, is in the shape of a woman. Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain are the breasts. The land another civilisation chose for the nation’s Parliament House rests in the womb. Few Australians realise this. It is disappointing that this belief was not appreciated when white men in stiff starched collars and heavy suits settled on the site for their capital. It was a shame they did not consult those whose traditional land this was. It would have been a most fitting rationale for the siting of Canberra rather than the jealousies of opposing officialdom in Sydney and Melbourne making it necessary to settle on neutral ground between the two major cities. “Welcome to today’s ceremony in this great building that houses the Australian Parliament”, Matilda continued graciously on that summer’s day in 2008. The silence was profound. Hundreds of people were gathered for this momentous event. Those unable to find seating or standing room inside hovered outside in the Canberra morning sunshine. Matilda looked up and it was as if all were as nervous as she. “And like all houses, it leaks.” Before she could explain there was much exhaling of nervous breath and a ripple of laughter. Matilda was chuckling herself; “I won’t say no more about that” – more laughter. “I mean the water”, she delivered with consummate timing. It was vintage Matilda House Williams. Matilda would never miss an opportunity for humour based on where she was or to whom she spoke, be they parliamentarians or members of the 600 nations of Australian Aboriginal people. She never misses an opportunity to say it how it is. Her laughter was infectious and the stilted atmosphere simply dissolved. This meeting place of Australia’s elected representatives “has been known to my people as a meeting place for thousands of years”. Matilda spoke of how at the opening of the original Parliament House in 1927, an elderly Aboriginal, barefoot and wearing his only suit – a worn, frayed garment – was denied entry. The police moved Billy Clements on because his appearance offended the sensibilities of the gathered dignitaries. He was reluctant, this was his ancestral land, but they did not agree. Matilda now stood barefoot and in ceremonial dress and acknowledged that she was honoured and welcome. Our nation is marked by great success and honourable deeds, and some not so, some made right and some yet to be made right, like tomorrow’s apology. The Ngambri elder spoke of the great pride she felt for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and acknowledged the importance of the day’s ceremony. She spoke about how this Prime Minister had shown: proper respect to us, to his fellow parliamentarians, and to all Australians. A welcome to country acknowledges our people, it pays respect to our ancestors, the spirits who created the lands. This then allows safe passage to all visitors. For thousands of years our peoples have observed this protocol. It is a good and honest and decent and very human act to reach out to make sure everyone has a place and is welcome. On behalf of the first people of this land, Prime Minister, I now return this honour. On this occasion of the opening of the first parliament of the new Australian Government I welcome you the elected representatives of every part of this nation. I acknowledge the trust given to you by all Australians to represent our interests, to make wise and just decisions and to honour the ancestors in whose footsteps you will follow. With this welcome comes a great symbolism, the hope of a united nation through reconciliation. We can join together the people of the oldest living culture in the world with others who have come from all over the globe and who continue to come. And together forging a united Australia, so committed to succeeding that we will not be denied. The message stick was a tangible symbol of the day’s ceremony. The message stick was the means of communication of the Aboriginal people. This one bore the hope and pride of the original inhabitants of the nation and “like our ancestors we can reach new heights soaring on the wings of the eagle”, Matilda concluded. The Ngambri elder invited Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Brendon Nelson, to remove her possum skin cloak and replace it on her shoulders with the inside facing outwards. Ceremonial cloaks have a drawing of the country of the Aboriginal tribe inside so this was of great significance because Matilda was inviting everyone that day to be part of the Ngambri people. Decades earlier this tribal elder would never have believed that she would stand here in front of the highest authorities in the nation and this ceremony, her address, beamed by media across the length and breadth of Australia. Decades earlier Matilda House was simply intent on surviving. Matilda House was born in 1945 on Erambie, an Aboriginal reserve on the fringe of the New South Wales country town Cowra. One of ten children, she was sent to her grandfather’s house on the Hollywood Aboriginal Reserve in the Yass precincts. There was absolutely nothing fanciful or glamorous about this “Hollywood” but Matilda was settled and life seemed normal. She remembers the mission attempts to “Christianise” her. Sunday school attendance indelibly imprinted a song: “Hear them pennies dropping, dropping one by one, they are all for Jesus he needs them every one.” It went on and on about how he needed these pennies and I wasn’t sure who needed the pennies most, him or us. Later in life Matilda could laugh about such memories but it was puzzling at the time for an Aboriginal child trying to make sense of it all.
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