My Story
The Bogan and Macquarie River valleys hold very Ngiyanhigin.gu Ngurambang (our special places) to my family. The Bogan Valley is my mother’s ancestral homelands we belong to the Warramunga language group of the Wiradjuri nation.
In 1997, I and other members of my hometown including 1 of my expert knowledge holders Evelyn Powell (deceased) made a bus trip to Coorong in South Australia. I saw for the first time at the Coorong a commercial cultural tourism business managed solely by 1st nation people. It was also at the Coorong I first meet Ellen Trevorrow another of my expert knowledge holders, see www.ngarrindjeri-culture.org.
I often reflect on the following statement Ellen gave at a gathering of 1st nation women at Trangie research station in April 2008.
“The weaving pattern represents life, stitch by stitch, circle by circle, the lands, water, and all living things are connected like family”.
It was also at Trangie when I first meet Gulumbu Yunupingu (deceased) from Arnhem Land another of my expert knowledge holders. Trangie is a Bogan valley community.
Because of farming practices much of the natural world in western NSW has been cleared. The Bogan and Maquarie valleys are members of the Australian wheat belt. I travel to the Darling River in Bourke, NSW to harvest my preferred native fiber Spiny Sedge. Bourke is also the place I meet the fourth of my knowledge holders Eileen Mackay (deceased).
Other ways I collect resources are through family and community gatherings where nowadays people save things for me like emu feathers. The fashion collection I designed for the 2022 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Country to Couture runway highlighted the different body parts of the emu from feathers people from the Brewarrina community gave to me.
I’m always collecting different species of fauna and flora when available wherever I go. Although there are many native fibers, I advocate for the use of Spiny Sedge. Firstly, to raise awareness of its existence and secondly, to showcase its superior quality. Spiny Sedge is not just indigenous to waterways in western NSW Spiny Sedge has been found growing around many waterways across Australia.
Where I live
One of my fondest childhood memories is growing up on the Bell River and dressing up in things we made from willow trees an invasive species. The Wellington valley has always been the homeland of the Wiradjuri Bingang language group. The township of Wellington has always been my home, I was born there at the District hospital in 1960. Wellington valley is a place where rivers and mountains meet and make way for the plains to begin.
Foremost and with the deepest of respect and admiration I would like to acknowledge all the 1st nation groups and individuals across Australia who did not survive the frontier wars at the hands of British invaders. I designed my logo to help raise awareness about the impacts of colonization on people and places especially in western NSW. And to highlight the concept of Decolonize.
The 2 (two) outer C-shaped designs reflect stolen 1st nation adults and children who have been forcibly removed from their families including incarceration. The bigger C shape represents adults the small back-to-front C represents our children.
The white background represents the fact Australia is surrounded by water, fresh or salty waterways connects us all. The middle circle disrupted with a line represents communities of 1st nation families. The line piercing these circles represent British invasion and settlement. The inner most circle represents first nation families prior to invasion who survived the frontier wars. My great, great uncle Nerang was a NSW Police Tracker.