Stolen Generations survivor Kath Ryan reflects on her life after WA redress scheme announced

Australia Broadcast Center

27-05-2025

More than 60 years ago, Stolen Generations survivor Kath Ryan was pulled screaming from her mother in Western Australia's Gascoyne region.
WARNING: This story contains details that may be distressing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers.
At just seven years old, she became one of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia taken from their families.
Years later, her own daughter was taken from her. But in the years since, she has reconnected with her family, graduated university and is proud to be a grandparent.
On Tuesday, the WA government announced Stolen Generations survivors would be eligible for payments of up to $85,000 as part of a landmark redress scheme.
It leaves just Queensland as the only state or territory without a compensation scheme for survivors.
Ms Ryan, a 72-year-old Yinggarda elder, was at the steps of WA's Parliament House when the announcement was made.
"It's wonderful. I cried when [Noongar traditional custodian] Jim Morrison told us," she said.
Ms Ryan was born in Carnarvon in 1953, her skin much lighter than her single mother's.
It put authorities on alert, with Ms Ryan's hardworking mother always on the move to evade welfare officials.
When they eventually caught up to her, she was powerless to act when a seven-year-old Ms Ryan was shoved into a paddy wagon and taken away.
"I was screaming and kicking and stuff like that. I saw my mum walking off and she didn't look back," she said.
"The penalty was back in the day if you kicked up and carried on, you would be thrown in jail."
Ms Ryan was placed in a Church of Christ mission in Carnarvon, where she spent her days carrying out domestic tasks and looking after the younger children.
When she was about 12 years old, she was sent to live with a family in the affluent Perth suburb of Cottesloe.
She said the prospect of going to a big city was exciting, and she went to a private school where she worked hard.
But she felt keenly the absence of her family and other children who looked like her.
During this time, she fell pregnant and was sent to a home for women and babies.
But as soon as her daughter was born, she was taken from Ms Ryan.
"I had no choice in the matter," she said.
Ms Ryan went on to have six other children, whom she vowed to keep close.
"No way was I going to let those other six go," she said.
Ms Ryan returned to Carnarvon in her 20s but received a shock when she was ostracised by her family.
"It's sort of like … as we say in our language, 'you've been living with Wadjela people, you've got to live that life now'," she said.
But she persisted in rebuilding a relationship with her mother, whom she only spent a combined nine years with before her death in her 90s.
As well as taking away precious time with her family, her experience as a Stolen Generations survivor also made Ms Ryan doubt her intellectual abilities.
It was not until a friend convinced her otherwise when she was in her mid-30s that she pursued a university education, graduating with a degree in community health.
Her granddaughter is now following in her footsteps and is pursuing a law degree.
"It makes me so proud," she said.
Now retired, Ms Ryan enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and other Stolen Generations survivors.
But she said she feels deeply the loss of other survivors who died before the announcement of redress this week.
"It was great to hear it, but a great sadness as well, because the Aboriginal people don't have a good life span. I'm fortunate, I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd reach 60, let alone 72," she said.
"For the unfortunate ones that have passed … it's a little bit too late."
For some time, Ms Ryan wanted to keep her story close out of feelings of shame.
But she said the time for silence had long passed.
"People need to know that these things happened," she said.
"With this truth-telling and stuff like that, hopefully we'll make a lot of people realise these things are true, they're not just made up."
The state government estimates there to be between 2,500 and 3,000 survivors of the Stolen Generations in WA.
Registrations for the redress scheme are expected to open later this year, with payments to follow towards the end of the year.