Latest news with #Gascoyne
ABC News
a day ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Long run helps strengthen ties between Burringurrah's kids and police
Children and police officers in the small community of Burringurrah were not just blowing off steam as they kicked up the red dirt around the town oval. They were forging relationships that would hopefully change lives. For the third year, officers and children in the remote community, 1,000 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia's Gascoyne, have spent most of May running laps of their sports ground for the Run4Blue initiative. The "virtual race" is held across the country at the same time each year, with participants nominating their own distance to run. It became part of the calendar thanks to Burringurrah police officer Colin Sibson and his wife, Glenda, a teacher in the community, when they first moved to the town. "Run4Blue approached us and asked us if we would be interested in participating," Ms Sibson said. "Colin put his hand up straight away and said, 'Yes, count us in.' "We didn't know how it was going to look and then, just stage by stage, we came up with this concept of doing the virtual run." The couple also saw it as a chance to strengthen relationships within the community. "The families can see they have the kids' best interests at heart," Ms Sibson said. "I think that has stemmed on to the adults as well." Burringurrah's virtual race covers 40km, the distance from the school to Landor Race Track. Children attended a celebration camp under the stars when the milestone was reached. A Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions representative and members of the Pilbara's Australian Defence Force (ADF) Regiment joined police for the last day at Burringurrah, and during the camp. Running laps and kicking a footy was something many of the local children looked forward to each day. Stanley, 13, said he was less scared of police than he used to be. "We didn't know them at first," he said. "Then the more we did [sports] with them, we started getting used to them." Senior Sergeant Sibson said building relationships with the children was immeasurably helpful. "It's just been a really good way to talk to the school, get to know what the kids are talking about, get to know what their parents are dealing with," he said. Sergeant Robert Brock, who led the defence force personnel involved in the camp, said the soldiers and children found the experience inspiring. "We're keen to keep that relationship going," he said. "Who knows? Maybe in the future one of them might want to join the army, but if not, we've just got a whole bunch more friends out here." It was not just the children who benefited. At the camp, Burringurrah man Stanley Hill and Sergeant Brock had a laugh and a catch-up. Mr Hill said he took pride in supporting others in the community. "Maybe you carry out hunting together and laugh together," he said. Sergeant Brock said relationships with the Burringurrah community helped the ADF do its job better. "You can learn lots of things about bush tucker from a book, but going out on country with people who intimately know those things, it was just so good," he said. "It helps us relate to people and relate to country. "There was another dimension to the landscape as well, because they're telling us about the dreaming story behind Mount Augustus itself."
ABC News
27-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Stolen Generations survivor Kath Ryan reflects on her life after WA redress scheme announced
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.
ABC News
25-05-2025
- ABC News
Incredible snapshots of Western Australia's history in Sea to Suburbia exhibition
Repairing a fence at Errabiddy Station, near Gascoyne River, 1973 ( Mike Brown, National Archives of Australia ) In 1973, two men are snapped getting dusty at Errabiddy Station in the Gascoyne to repair a fence. Young people enjoying Cottesloe Beach, 1969 ( Mike Brown, National Archives of Australia ) Kids jump off the rocks at Cottesloe Beach in the summer of 1969. The engineer, cook and crew of a pearling lugger open and clean shells, keeping a watchful eye for pearls off the coast of Broome in 1949 ( National Archives of Australia ) In 1949, the engineer, cook and crew of a pearling lugger open and clean shells in Broome, keeping an eye out for pearls. Danish migrants Poul and Lea Korsgaard enjoy a cocktail in the front yard of their suburban house in 1970. ( National Archives of Australia ) Danish migrants Poul and Lea Korsgaard enjoy a cocktail in the front yard of their suburban house in 1970. Children enjoy their showbags at the Perth Royal Show, Claremont, 1961 ( William Hartley, National Archives of Australia ) Children with their showbags at the Perth Royal Show in 1961. St Georges Terrace, Perth, 1946. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia ) It's all part of the rich tapestry of what life in Western Australia once was. Snapshots of WA's history are on display in Perth as part of a National Archives of Australia exhibition exploring the state's identity after World War II. The Sea to Suburbia exhibition evokes memories of the sights and sounds of the way of life in the west. A suave Cottesloe beach inspector surveys the surf in 1983. ( National Archives of Australia ) Co-curator Dr Kellie Abbott said the images were captured by Australian government photographers to "market" the West Aussie way of life to the world, and show the state through "rose-coloured glasses". "A lot of the photos were taken by the News and Information Bureau, which was set up during World War II with a propaganda and censorship role," she said. A timber worker removes a large belly slab from a karri tree before felling, 1971. ( National Archives of Australia ) "Their role was to document Australian life, to go around the country and take photos of people, of places, of industry, of the environment. "Part of their role was to create a positive image of Australia, to try to sell it to people who might be looking to migrate, but also just to represent Australia in the world as a modern country rebuilding after World War II. Playing bocce at the Italian Club, West Perth, 1979. ( National Archives of Australia ) "There's not ... a lot of cloudy skies or conflict or poverty. It's a selective image, a selective picture of Western Australia." Dr Abbott said the bureau wanted to show Perth as a developing "modern" city, full of promise and diverse industries, with plenty of job opportunities. "In some ways, people still look at it like an overgrown country town," she said. "And I think these photos of the city capture that as well, it is a modern city, but there's also just a sense of people being a little bit unhurried, maybe compared to some other places, a bit more relaxed." Celebrating Australia II's victory in the America's Cup, Perth, 1983. ( Mike Brown, National Archives of Australia ) Battye Library historian Dr Kate Gregory said Perth and Western Australia changed dramatically in the middle of the 20th century, with rapid expansion in the developing suburbs. "Post-war migration and the baby boom more than doubled the population and resulted in the rapid expansion of suburban development through the 1950s," Dr Gregory said. "The 1955 Stephenson-Hepburn Plan for the Metropolitan Region created a vision for the city featuring corridors of suburbs connected by a major freeway system. "River infill and the destruction of significant heritage buildings gave rise to the conservation movement which lobbied to protect the natural and cultural heritage values of Perth." Children frolic in Kalgoorlie's Lord Forrest Olympic Pool during a 1953 heatwave. ( Clifford Bottomley, National Archives of Australia ) Dr Abbott said she encouraged audiences to think about aspects of life in Western Australia that were not represented in the images. "There are certain communities that are not represented in these photographs because of the nature of the mission that these photographers had," she said. "It's a bit of a rose-tinted glasses kind of situation." The Sea to Suburbia exhibition is at the National Archives of Australia Western Australian office in Northbridge until November 28. Aboriginal pearl sorter, Broome, 1964. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Wilfred Brindle ) Miners on the Golden Mile, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, 1947. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Jim Fitzpatrick ) Mass tennis class, Perth, 1967. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Mike Brown ) Perth's playground, Kings Park in 1973. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia ) The banks of the Swan River in front of the Narrows Bridge, South Perth, 1969. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Mike Brown ) Sunbaking on Port Beach in 1975. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Mike Brown ) Great white shark caught off Albany, 1975. ( John McKinnon, National Archives of Australia ) Fishermen inspecting cray pots in Fremantle, 1969. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Mike Brown ) Palm Beach jetty in Rockingham, 1975. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia ) Shearing shed, Western Australia, 1972. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia: Norman Plant ) Cheyne Beach Whaling Station, Frenchman Bay, Albany, 1970. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia ) Retted straw at Blackwood Flax Mill in Boyup Brook, 1953. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Jack Gallagher ) Boats at Fremantle, 1962 ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Alex Ozolins ) Post office, Pinjarra, 1946. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia, Max Dupain ) Water hazard at Wyndham Golf Course, 1970. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia. ) Credits Posted 6m ago 6 minutes ago Sun 25 May 2025 at 12:11am
