my great grandmother was from the Young area and was a Wirradgie ,this is family history, she was married to an irishman, when she died in childbirth her death was not registered non the birth of her daughter, her husband was a settler and probably buried her on his property ,which I cannot locate I wished to put a gravestone on her grave as she was unknowlingly the great mother of a huge family, I have a photo of her daughter who is obviously Aboriginal,I have been in touch with Kath Shilling at ASTIC who tells me that unless the family lived in town and under the protection of the Aboriginal protection board who kept records of each family, there are no other records except family history which so it is impossible to really identify your family member unless they lived in towns or were "lucky" enough to live on a station where they kept records of the Aboriginal families who lived there,my question is this if I contacted the elders council at Young NSW would they accept this as genuine , I have no other interest in any benefits, only to give this lady her rightful place as the great mother of our family and maybe eventually find whee she is buried and commerate her life with a plaque or stone. Ray Gavan. Sydney

I have read with interest the debate on Aboriginality over the past few posts. Many of us come from families that were either stolen or silenced. There is not an Indigenous family today (either identifying or not) who have not been touched by past policy. If you did not have a family member who was physically removed then ask yourself why so many of you are actively seeking your Indigenous side.....the answer is because your family was affected by policy of the day and it was easier and safer for your ancestors to say they were Greek, Italian, Maori, Indian, anything but Aboriginal. To be Aboriginal meant to live under incredibly oppressive laws and risk having your children taken away. As the generations went on, it was easier to 'forget' your Aboriginal grandmother or grandfather or Aunt or Uncle, rather than face racist taunts or stigma which has lead to not only a stolen generation but a silenced one as well. This is why it is so important that as we enter the 21st century, the more of us who find our Indigenous forebears should be proud to claim these elders as ours and, if you feel so, to identify as Indigenous. It doesn't matter about the colour of your skin, or 'claiming' benefits etc - it's about acknowledging what your ancestors went through to allow YOU to be who you are today. My great grandmother was taken from Nowra to La Perouse at the turn of the 20th century. Her name was Jane Cronin and she married a Puckeridge. We have been looking for our mob ever since. The past was about wiping out who we were. It was about removing our culture and colour from us. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be given an opening to the past - then we have an obligation to acknowledge what our forebears have been through. If my family did not identify - then everything my ancestors have been through would have been in vain - and the past policies would have been successful - wouldn't they? Craig Sams

Just a thought that might help with your search or you might have already done it but ask for a copy (might cost you though) of the burials from the burial book which is usually held at the local post office, it usually goes back quite a few years and check both names of your great grandmother and her spouse as they may be in there and sometimes these books also record reason for death. During this search you may find the names of stations in the area that are no longer but may open up something new for you to search for also siblings of your great grandmother as well. Just a thought Regards Hazel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray and Jamie GAVAN" <dannyg@rpi.net.au> To: <AUS-KOORI-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2001 9:32 PM Subject: [AUS-Koori] aboriginality, > my great grandmother was from the Young area and was a Wirradgie ,this > is family history, she was married to an irishman, when she died in > childbirth her death was not registered non the birth of her daughter, > her husband was a settler and probably buried her on his property ,which > I cannot locate I wished to put a gravestone on her grave as she was > unknowlingly the great mother of a huge family, I have a photo of her > daughter who is obviously Aboriginal,I have been in touch with Kath > Shilling at ASTIC who tells me that unless the family lived in town and > under the protection of the Aboriginal protection board who kept records > of each family, there are no other records except family history which > so it is impossible to really identify your family member unless they > lived in towns or were "lucky" enough to live on a station where they > kept records of the Aboriginal families who lived there,my question is > this if I contacted the elders council at Young NSW would they accept > this as genuine , I have no other interest in any benefits, only to give > this lady her rightful place as the great mother of our family and maybe > eventually find whee she is buried and commerate her life with a plaque > or stone. > Ray Gavan. > Sydney > > > ==== AUS-KOORI Mailing List ==== > >