...That girl walks this land as though she thinks it's hers...
Oodgeroo Noonuccal, writer, poet and Aboriginal rights campaigner:
'This is my land: I have always said that, even as a child. The white people used to say to Dad: 'That girl walks this land as though she thinks it's hers.' Dad wouldn't say anything. He'd just walk home and tell me, "Mrs So-and-so said you walk this land as though you think it's yours." "It is mine, isn't it?" I would say. And he'd say: "Yes, girl. Don't ever forget it."'
'This is my land: I have always said that, even as a child. The white people used to say to Dad: 'That girl walks this land as though she thinks it's hers.' Dad wouldn't say anything. He'd just walk home and tell me, "Mrs So-and-so said you walk this land as though you think it's yours." "It is mine, isn't it?" I would say. And he'd say: "Yes, girl. Don't ever forget it."'
Keywords: aboriginal property ownership, cultural preservation, Noonuccal, Oodgeroo, 1979
Oodgeroo, Noonuccal 1979 in Lane, Terry ed. 'As the Twig is Bent: Childhood Recollections of Sixteen Prominent Australians', Terry Lane, Dove, Melbourne, p 33.
Source: Noonuccal, Oodgeroo
Source: Noonuccal, Oodgeroo