Roebourne
Lowitja O'Donoghue was removed from her mother at the age of 2, and did not see her again until 33 years later:
"I'd always thought about what my mother was feeling and whether in fact she cared and whether in fact she ever asked the question where her children might be."
[Interviewer: So did you find her?]
"Yes I did. I arrived in the town of Coober Pedy. I went to the supermarket to get my stores to go out to what was known as the Aboriginal Reserve at that time, and of course I'm talking about the 70s, talking about the late 60s actually. There was a group of Aboriginal people who were sitting outside the supermarket who said 'That's Lily's daughter'. And with that, of course, I'd known some of the language so I went over and, in the language, I said 'Yes, you're right, I am Lily's daughter'."
[Interviewer: That was just from your appearance?]
"Just from the family resemblance."
[Interviewer: She knew you were coming from the grapevine. Had she been waiting for you?]
"Yes, she had. She had waited three months. From the day that she heard that I was in the area, she had waited on the road from sun-up until sun-down. And on the night that we had came in of course, we'd come in very late so she had sort of returned because her camp had no lighting. So I mean, once it was dark, it was really time to settle down."
[Interviewer: Even now, you feel emotional when you think about this.]
"Yes I do. I never... I just can't cope with thoughts of what had happened, and not for myself, but for all those years that she in fact didn't know where her family were."
Video available at: NFSA, Lowitja O'Donoghue - Reunion, NFSA http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1030/
Further information see: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/women_and_politics/abor1.htm
Lowitja O'Donoghue