In conversation
- Bev Campbell
- Les Townsend
- Recorded
- 2012
- Length
- 51:01
“We had a lot of mateship there amongst the other boys and girls. Most of our childhood was spent with games down the gully.”
About this conversation
Siblings, Bev Campbell and Les Townsend, talk to The Story Project's Hamish Sewell about their childhood connection with Uralla's former Aboriginal reserve, West End.
Brother and sister, Les and Bev - both Aniwan Elders for Uralla - talk with The Story Project's Hamish Sewell about their early lives in Uralla, with some focus on the West End Aboriginal Reserve. They talk about their childhood memories of the reserve, including: the games they played with other children; the sense of community; the annual bonfire on Empire Day. They talk about their connection with families in the Panhandle, an Aboriginal community outside Uralla. They talk of what they learnt from their parents, and describe being brought up to believe they were Maori to avoid being noticed by the Welfare Board ('The Welfare'). They describe the discrimination Aboriginal children faced, as well as the generosity of some of the local shops towards the Aboriginal children. They describe the vigil of elders for their great grandmother, Ma Murray's, passing. They talk about their family's love of and skill in performing country music, including Les' performances in local talent quests. They share some details of life in West End: no running water or toilets, no money for sugar, rules they had to live by, and the impossibility of studying at home with just one candle for light. They talk of school life and of the regular visits to the school by The Welfare and the police, including stories of The Welfare's Mr Wicks (or Wiks?). They particularly note the educational and professional achievements of some in their family and in the generation of Uralla Aboriginal people that has followed them.