BIO: John Moriarty has forged a link between his two backgrounds. He was born about 62 years ago on a riverbank at Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia, to Yanyuwa tribeswoman Kathleen and Irishman John Moriarty. At the age of five he was taken from his mother under the 1937 Assimilation Policy which ensured part-aboriginal children were taken from their parents and placed in missions "to attain the same manner of living as other Australians." John never saw his father again. He spent his youth in various missions until at age 15, while on holiday in Alice Springs, a woman walked up to him, asked him his name, where he was from and said, "I am your mother." He then spent two weeks with her, before returning to Adelaide and she to Borroloola where she died circa 1993. After his schooling he trained as a fitter and turner and competed regionally and nationally on the soccer field. John was a new generation Aborigine, representing his people in sport and community organizations. He became the first Aboriginal graduate in South Australia. During his time in the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in Canberra, he met his wife, Ros. They decided to promote his Aboriginal background in exotic art and designs produced in their studio and marketed for clothing, swimwear, rugs, etc. under the "Balaringi" label. Circa 1980, John Moriarty's curiosity as to his Irish background led him to Blennerville in Co. Kerry, outside Tralee, from where his father, also named John Moriarty came. His enquiries led him to a relative who, having been persuaded (with difficulty) of his identity, gave John a fishing rod which had belonged to his father. The search then also led him to cousins in Tralee, where he spent two days with them. John was delighted to later receive from a historian a Moriarty family tree tracing his roots back to his great-grandfather. -- Excerpt, "Irish Roots" periodical