In 1955, Aunty Margaret Beaven’s four siblings were taken from their mother as part of the Stolen Generations. All four children were under five years old. Margaret's mother never saw any of them again, aside from the eldest sister who came home when she was eighteen.
As an adult, Aunty Margaret was able to reconnect with her brother through a family friend. Then she learned of an organisation called Link-Up that helped Margaret locate her sister Bette.
Oh my sister, she said, now I found you I'm never gonna let you go.
In this episode of Conversations on Country, Aunty Margaret recites an original poem, ‘My Journey’, that she wrote for her sister, as well as her mother who was never able to share her own story.
My Journey
Your hearts were broken the day the welfare came,
Things would never be the same
You suffered in silence, never speaking a word
Hearing you cry, that’s what I heard
Never thought this day would come when I’d find my family,
One by one
Jenny was the first to come home, the big car pulled up
Jenny stepped out,
What are they looking at?
She started crying with tears in her eyes
The last time she was home, she was only five
Jenny had a daughter later in life
Tammy is her name, the love of her life
My journey started in ‘85 when my brother didn’t know if we were dead or alive
How excited we were the first time we met
As he passed me his birth certificate
I remember seeing sister Jen at a picnic day
Standing behind a pylon looking my way
We would look at each other and smile cause we hadn’t seen each other in a while
Sister Bette she came next
What a cruel family they were to her
They would lock her out the door in the pouring rain
Thank God Chrissy came
Come with me, we'll take care of you, cause we know what you're going through.
It wasn't until Link-Up gave her a call, she knew she had a family after all
We met for the first time at midnight, when she sat on the floor and held my leg tight
I'll never let you go she said to me, they should have been charged with cruelty
Home she came to stay until the day she sadly passed away.
Cindy from Link-Up rang,
I've come across your file and I notice it's been sitting here a while
This is your only sister left. Leave it with me and I'll do my best.
I wish my sisters were here that day when Link-Up rang to say,
They found our sister not living far away.
My heart started beating fast. I didn't know what to say,
Is this really true?
Is this really you?
Well the rest is history and here we are today
Telling our story of being taken away.
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Conversations on Country is produced by Liz Keen & Simon Portous, Headline Productions and Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance.
Host: Uncle Michael Jarrett
Concept & Direction: Michelle Flanders
Artwork: Cassandra Sutton Photography
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