Wagga's Aunty Isabel Reid has been recognised for her tireless advocacy with a nomination for NSW Senior Australian of the year.
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The 88-year-old Wiradjuri Elder is dedicated to education, which she calls "a way of life", and to healing for the Stolen Generation.
"My life's all about the community and it's all about young people. That's what I always strive for," Aunty Isabel said.
Aunty Isabel was a young girl when she became one of the tens of thousands of Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families.
She was on way home from school with her brother and sister when she was taken and sent to the Cootamundra Girls' Home, where she worked as a domestic servant whose wages were paid to the NSW government.
"I'd say to myself, 'Well, you did it Isabel," she said.
"Because I was told when I was growing up in the homes that I wouldn't amount to anything."
Aunty Isabel is widely-respect and much loved in Wagga for her public speaking and her work with the city's young residents.
"I let them know where I come from. I wasn't always like this," she said.
"I tell them the story about when I was taken away as a young girl and what happened in the homes and that I didn't get the education that I would have loved to have got."
Aunty Isabel put herself through TAFE and learnt to read and write after she left the girls' home.
"And doors just opened up for me because I ended up ... with two good jobs and just went on from there," she said.
"I did really want the community to know where I came from and how I got there and what I'm doing now. And that's why I talk to the children and the schools to let them know that education is so important.
"I say anyone can do it. You've just got to aim high for everything."
In other news
Aunty Isabel was made an inaugural director of the Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation in 2013. In 2016, she was appointed as an inaugural member and Chairperson of the Stolen Generations Advisory Committee.
Her strong leadership contributed to the NSW Government offering a $74 million reparation package to those forcibly removed under the Aborigines Protection Act 1909-1969.
She is one of four senior nominees and will attend the awards night in Sydney on November 9, where winners will be nominated for the nation-wide Australian of the Year awards.
"Nomination's a big thing ... I'm so happy about it all," Aunty Isabel said.
"I'm just overwhelmed. And I think it'll put the icing on the cake."
Catie McLeod
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
