Creating Our Own History

My connection to here is pretty strong. If we had our way, we wouldn't have to go to town if we had the resources and things. I feel really strong about my connection to country, and I often share that with our visitors. Very privileged, from our great-grandparents and extended family, what we call grannies and stuff, who were connected to this country, the owners of the place, and who handed it down to us.

This place has had a turbulent history, definitely. Hearing it. A lot of good history, good and bad. But this week has made a huge impact on our family. We still tell the past, but we also going to tell the future now.

Welcoming strangers to our country who put their hand up to create something amazing. This is a lifetime of friendship and family that we've created over the week. Everyone coming and going, but having that impact where everyone helped, had input. Creating something big.

Being privileged to have such a beautiful place, the resources we'd be able to share with undervalued kids. Kids that don't have what we have. Connection to country, the culture, and their own history. Aboriginal history is very important that they learn these things.

The biggest impact we have at the moment is having interstate school groups visiting our country. Sharing our culture, our history on country, and them experiencing what we can offer. Those kids are very fortunate, very privileged kids that don't understand the sense of value and hard work. Kids have gone back and asked, "What can I change in my privileged life to benefit here?"

I said to one young lady who wanted to be an engineer. You go back and graduate, and you come back, and you might say one of Kylie's communities might benefit from something you've created. There's nothing wrong with colour. We're all the same. One of the kids said they never had that opportunity to be connected to Aboriginal people. That stuff is very important because white Australia just sees the wrongs. There's no rights, you know.

Our kids in ten years' time. That's our focus at the moment. The businesses we have, the kids are looking at programs and studies to fall back on the businesses we own. We often talk about it: how old will you be in ten years, what are your goal settings.

Living in two worlds. That's Christie and Tanya's biggest thing. And for Aboriginal men too. Going through cultural law and then also in the western world. Not everyone's accepted. It doesn't help when politicians target Aboriginal men and paint everyone with the same brush.

To break the cycle, it's up to those ones they say are too far gone. It's very important you get on board with them, the men and the women, to change the narrative.

I've seen Dad walking through the house, very emotional. He's like, "It's unbelievable." He never thought he'd see it in his lifetime to get just the bloody roof done.

Our most important thing is our kids and their kids being connected the way they are now. It's very important they keep that trust together, that connection, to protect this place.