5050 stories.seniors. 5050 stories.seniors. Acknowledgements Firstly, COTA NT would like to acknowledge and thank all the story tellers we spoke with for sharing an insight into what the Territory means to them. We hope you enjoyed telling your stories as much as we have enjoyed reading them. We would also like to thank members of our Board, staff and volunteer team for sharing their stories too – we have a very diverse and inspiring family! And we thank those who gave their time to collect the stories, especially Fran Smith for her professionalism, hard work and dedication to the project. Supported by the Northern Territory Government through the Northern Territory History Grants Program of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture. Copyright 2019 © Council on the Ageing (Northern Territory) Inc. Also known as COTA NT Foreword COTA NT wanted to mark 50 years of operations in the Northern Territory by celebrating some of the seniors it works to support. We could not think of a better way to do it than to collect 50 stories from our seniors throughout the Northern Territory and share them with you. “50 Seniors, 50 Stories” offers an insight into NT seniors’ lives: their thoughts, their histories and how they enjoy the lifestyle of the Territory. I found reading the stories enthralling and I know you will too. We have many more stories to share – so we might even produce a second edition! We tried to gather stories from every region, but realised that most of our storytellers had lived in many parts of the Territory, and experienced each region's unique landscape and hospitality. The Territory definitely has an allure that attracts people and keeps calling them back. For those of us who call the Territory home – and will continue to do so – we can relate to these stories, which explain why so many seniors want to call the Territory home too. It is our unique lifestyle, the welcoming of all cultures and the opportunities here, but most of all, it’s us. The Territory people who are proud to call themselves, “Territorians.” All our seniors, who help bind the social fabric of the Territory, have contributed to this wonderful home of ours. To have a future we must acknowledge the past, and this small but important publication does just that! Enjoy Sue Shearer CEO, COTA NT 50 Seniors. 50 Stories. 3 Dedication This book is dedicated to all senior Territorians who have helped to create simply the best place to live in Australia. The Northern Territory. Home. 4 50 Seniors. 50 Stories. Contents Doris Stuart Kngwarreye ............................................ 6 Faye Hartley .................................................................37 Ann Richards ................................................................. 8 Homer Coderre ............................................................38 (Aunty) Bilawara Lee ................................................... 9 Jose Casimiro ............................................................. 40 Melanie Chin ................................................................ 10 Dr Vino Sathianathan .................................................41 Don Lockley ...................................................................11 Steve Thomas ..............................................................42 Sister Magali of Jesus ................................................12 Janette (Jan) Jewell ..................................................43 Katrina Fong Lim..........................................................15 Sally Thomas AC ....................................................... 44 Toshi Manolis ................................................................17 Sandra Clyne ...............................................................45 Cesarina Gonzadi .........................................................18 Penni Tastula ...............................................................46 Valerie Hristova ............................................................19 Robyn Wardle ..............................................................47 Joe De Luca ................................................................ 20 John Pollock................................................................ 48 Ron James .....................................................................21 Robyn Burridge ...........................................................49 Dawn Sanders .............................................................22 Clare Martin ..................................................................51 Otto Dan .......................................................................23 Jenny Messell ..............................................................52 Marian Cox ...................................................................24 John Carriere ...............................................................53 Steve Allen ...................................................................25 Sue Firth .......................................................................54 Allan Mitchell ..............................................................27 Jayne Rothall ...............................................................55 Ida Anderson ................................................................28 Ian Willis .......................................................................56 Denise McEwan ..........................................................29 Suzanne Stewart ........................................................57 Frances (Bobbie) Lea ................................................ 30 Marguerite Baptiste Rooke ......................................58 Pam Watson .................................................................32 Ken Cohalan OAM ..................................................... 60 Brian Pepper ................................................................33 Fay Miller .......................................................................61 John and Toni Bonney ...............................................34 Neville Clements ........................................................62 Mary Yee .......................................................................35 John Whyte .................................................................63 Franca Finocchiaro .....................................................36 Fran Smith ....................................................................64 50 Seniors. 50 Stories. 5 Doris Stuart Kngwarreye Central Arrernte Senior Custodian, Doris consequences. I know people that have gone Stuart Kngwarreye was born under a tree on before me who also had responsibilities, because her mother’s traditional lands at Hamilton I inherit, whatever, I walk in their footsteps.” Downs, west of Alice Springs in 1943, a This responsibility did not fall on all her siblings middle child of a family of 10 children. She only herself and a brother. Her sisters always has lived all her life in central Australia. understood that, “They would say, don’t ask Mparntwe (Alice Springs) is her father’s me you’ve got to talk to Doris.” Doris explained traditional grounds. that it is not always easy to be the custodian, especially with a town built on the traditional Doris’s father was a boundary fencer at Hamilton lands and she has had to learn to respect both Downs and the family had gone there for safety sides. “Some people are just one sided in their after the bombing of Darwin when Doris was born. own culture, but we have to look at it from both She grew up in Alice Springs, but used to return to sides and we both have needs. But somehow you Hamilton Downs for school holidays. “We would go get some inner strength, you have to maintain and spend time with family, so we had both worlds and not compete with the two sides.” y’know.” Doris stayed with her grandparents, her Doris grew up in a part of Alice Springs called mother’s parents and she remembers that, “Those the Gap Cottages, but before that, when she was old people, they got their rations. We would line three or four, she lived at Ah Hong’s market garden. up on Saturday morning with the little billy cans Ah Hong was one of the early Chinese residents in in our hands. It was hard for them, but they were Alice Springs and was her grandfather’s stepfather. honest old people. They just worked hard.” Late at night, when they lived at the Gap Cottages, Doris was still quite young when she started she could hear the men conducting ceremonies to realise that she had special responsibilities on the eastern side of the river which she was to the land. “I had no choice really, I have to do forbidden to see, but she could hear the singing the right thing by the place otherwise there are 6 50 Seniors. 50 Stories. I’m not a traditional owner – I don’t own anything: the country owns me, and I have to do what the country needs to keep it strong. wafting across the river. Her father, Donald Stuart, caterpillar species stories Yeperenye, Ntyarlke and had been educated by Ida Stanley and made sure Utnerrengaty. She also has a connection to the his children went to school and “stuck to hard White euro which has appeared at various times in work.” He was proud of the fact that he could her life to warn her of imminent events. work in two worlds and earn a living and provide Doris was a key spokesperson in the Alice Springs for his family. Native Title Claim in the early 1990s. What was Doris carried on that ideal in her life. When she so special about the determination of Native Title was young, she used to help her sisters at work in