Aboriginal Heritage Stories Queanbeyan and surrounds Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council Published in 2014 by: Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council PO BOX 150/70 Monaro Street Queanbeyan NSW 2620 P 02 6297 4152 F 02 6299 3941 E [email protected] W www.ngambri.com.au Cultural and intellectual property rights: The Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council acknowledges the cultural and intellectual property rights of Aboriginal people whose stories are featured in this publication. Copyright: The Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council and the 10 individual story tellers jointly hold the copyright for information and images in this publication. Without written permission from individual story tellers and the Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council, information and images may not be reproduced beyond that normally permitted under Australian copyright laws. ISBN: 978-0-646-91829-7 Cover image: ‘Bogong Moth Dreaming’ by Jim ‘Boza’ Williams, © 2000. Aboriginal Heritage Stories Queanbeyan and surrounds Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council Acknowledgments This community project would not have been possible without the support and direction of the Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council, based in Queanbeyan, and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. The collection, collation and publication of the stories has involved a number of people over the past four years including Cathy Vincent, Paul House, Col Williams, Cheryl Williams and Susan Dale Donaldson. Racheal Brühn undertook graphic design work, Penny Cook and Alison Worthington edited the collection, Sonia Bazzacco produced the map and the historical content in ‘remembering our ancestors’ is based on the work of Ann Jackson-Nakano. A special ‘thank you’ to the five Aboriginal men and five Aboriginal women who generously shared their life stories and photographs for this publication. Your stories will broaden awareness and understanding of how it has felt to be an Aboriginal person living in Queanbeyan and in townships across country New South Wales, today and over the past century. Ngambri LALC would also like to express their appreciation to Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd for supporting the book launch celebrations. Dedications This book is dedicated to Ngambri - Ngurmal ancestors. Sadly, Victor Dunn and Shirley Knight, who graciously ii Queanbeyan and surrounds contributed to this publication, passed away before it was finished. Introduction Ten Aboriginal women and men have contributed to unskilled work was offered, daily meals consisted this publication to help raise the profile of the unique of farm produce combined with possums, crayfish, historical experience of Aboriginal women and men echidna and kangaroo, whilst accommodation living in the Queanbeyan region of New South Wales comprised tents and bush shelters established today. They have talked about their lives leading along local rivers. up to the time when they moved to and settled in This publication highlights the broad range of work Queanbeyan, with many of the men and women having undertaken by Aboriginal people across country New relocated to the area from various parts of central South Wales throughout the 20th century including, but New South Wales. Whilst some families moved back not limited, to hay carting, railway construction, bullock to Queanbeyan to reconnect with their ancestor’s transport, water carting, house cleaning, fruit picking, country, others left their traditional lands and moved to Queanbeyan to find work, education and a stable place child minding, teaching, fencing, rabbiting, stock work, to call home. carpentry, mining, timber milling, slaughtering and burr chipping. These tasks were essential to the economic During the late 1800s, the NSW Government forced growth of the region and were proudly undertaken by Aboriginal people to live on government reserves, Aboriginal men and women. missions and stations across New South Wales, usually with disregard for the placement of other family Many of the stories have a recurring theme of how times members and the location of tribal lands. Recollections were hard but life was good; there was always work of life throughout the mid-1900s on ‘Hollywood Mission’ to be done, fish in the river to be caught and family to near Yass, ‘Erambie Mission’ near Cowra, and ‘Brungle be around. Community relationships were very strong Mission’ north of Tumut, reveal the interconnections as reflected in the stories of celebration and survival. between the story tellers, their kin and a web of Cultural practices were maintained as children were places across country New South Wales. Families taught to enjoy roaming the bush, swimming in the river moved between base locations searching for work, and finding a feed. Playing sport, joining a band, seeing education and to keep kin together during the welfare a film and attending town shows were enjoyed by both era. Memories of these times carry sadness, joy and black and white; common ground was found in these nostalgia. The story tellers share a sense of loss when public places. remembering elders who have passed away and the These cultural connections and histories are very children who were stolen. important for the story tellers, for their families and for Each individual story gives a brief insight into how the broader community, especially when considering Aboriginal people contributed to the social and the gains achieved when Aboriginal people mobilised economic development of the places they called in the 1960s to gain Aboriginal citizenship, in the home, and to the cultural fabric of their community. 1970s to establish the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, and In an era when segregation was the norm and in the 1980s to form Aboriginal Land Councils and Aboriginal citizenship rights did not exist, Aboriginal Legal Services. The process of seeking justice and people had marginal options, hence manual labour was reconnecting with traditional lands, wherever they often done in exchange for no wages; the landowners may be, is an integral component to the identity of the usually offered food and rudimentary shelter for the Aboriginal men and women who call Queanbeyan home workers and their immediate families. When low paid, today, in 2014. iii ‘…Dad had to take out an exemption ticket ‘…it was certainly a different environment and declare himself a non-Aboriginal, so we back in those days, where families, relatives could attend school…’ and kinships were much closer…’ Ethel Baxter Col Williams ‘…we use to throw a bike wheel in the ‘…Canberra is my great grandfather’s country shallow end and trap the fish. That’s how we and the Bogong Moths are my totem…’ went fishing; we caught the biggest and the Jim ‘Boza’ Williams nicest crayfish you have ever eaten..’ ‘…it most mostly seasonal work for the old Victor Dunn people. It was a hard life. You just didn’t get ‘…in those days travelling with our a fair go if you were Aboriginal…’ grandparents was really a wonderful Wilga Munro Williams experience. Being taught the bush ways of life and listening to the stories…’ ‘…My Aboriginality comes from my great great grandfather, John Luke Barber. He was Matilda House known as a good worker…’ ‘….I loved living on the Lachlan. It was really Dale Luke [Barber] Winters a special place for me. We had our own swimming hole and a swing hanging down ‘…My family worked really hard at everything. from the tree…’ I remember they would hunt and catch rabbits, go picking mushrooms, cherry Shirley Knight picking in Young and even cart wood…’ ‘…you really had to live under strict rules Jim Winters at the mission. You had to see the mission manager for bread in the morning. That was your daily ration of bread…’ David ‘Crocket’ Newton iv Queanbeyan and surrounds Table of Contents Remembering the ancestors ............................................1 Story tellers Ethel Baxter ..........................................................9 Victor Sylvester Dunn .................................................17 Matilda Williams House ...............................................23 Shirley Knight .......................................................31 David ‘Crocket’ Newton ..............................................37 Col Williams .........................................................43 Jim ‘Boza’ Williams ...................................................49 Wilga Munro Williams ................................................55 Dale Luke (Barber) Winters ............................................61 James (Jim) Winters ..................................................67 Remembering the ancestors ...........................................73 Aboriginal Heritage Stories v Photo looking out across Weereewaa (Lake George) Onyong’s birthplace. vi Queanbeyan and surrounds Remembering the Ancestors Onyong [Hong-kong] was a Ngambri Walgalu man born Jenny and Tommy were buried at the ‘native burial in the early 1800s. In 1834 Onyong was recorded as ground’ at Glenwood, a property owned by McCarthy having two wives, Mary and Nanny, and three children on Ginninderra Estate. [two boys and one girl]. He was found to be living in the mountains beyond the Murrumbidgee, the limestone Nanny or Jun.in.mingo was born in 1826. She was plains and also Wanniassa [Tuggeranong]. Onyong’s one of the first, if not the first member of the Ngambri tribe was said to be ‘Namwich’ and the other members group with a mixed heritage, said to be from a of his group included Charley, Tommy, Neddy and Mr relationship between James Ainslie and an Aboriginal woman guiding Ainslie to