Memorable People

Te Ao Hou, September 1967, Page 20

Memorable People In the group we met many whom we will never forget. There was Jim Morgan, a leader of his people, who was the first full blooded Aborigine appointed to the Aboriginal Welfare Board. Largely self taught, Jim had an ability that would have taken him anywhere. He was a remarkable man, combining the traditions of his past with the progressions of the modern world. There was Nellie, a WIDOW with six children, whose eldest child was in a good job in Queensland and whose second child had just been awarded a scholarship that would enable her to continue at High School. Nellie's character was all strength and determination and some bitterness because of the white man's treatment of her race. Her strength was centred on her children in an effort to improve their chances of success in a world that had not dealt kindly with her and her generation. In the A.F.E.C. she saw an opportunity to learn more about her children, and in the few days we were with her, we saw her attitude to her youngest child changing as she realised that guidance was just as effective as coercion. Margaret was the mother of five children and one of the most vital and alive people ever met. She loved children and they loved her. When it became clear that we were just ordinary mothers with no formal professional training, who had learned to manage a preschool and in turn help other mothers, there was a dramatic change in her. She appeared to find reassurance and a new identity. We hope that this will be strong enough to carry her through the trials that lie ahead.

Aborigines at Box Ridge clearing ground for their play area, Pearl Allen is sitting in the middle of the children. There was Lena, who described her life as ‘a long black tunnel’ and who saw our coming as ‘a light at the end’. She is a potential leader of her people. She was determined to educate herself and her children. In the A.F.E.C. she saw a practical way of doing this.