Proud Race
Name:
Joan Robinson nee Kelly
Born:
1939 Murray Downs near Balranald NSW
Tribe:
Mutthi Mutthi
Totem:
Red Kangaroo and carpet snake
Entered the Dreaming: 7th January 2009
Joan was the eldest daughter of Alice and Alf Kelly one of elevan... she travelled to
Melbourne as a young woman determined to break down the barriers to employment for
Aboriginal women. She stayed initially with Sir Doug Nicholls and his wife and was
employed at Footrest Shoes in Preston where she worked for the next 35 years. She
ensured that she passed on her values of pride in identity and strong work ethic to her
younger brothers and sisters and her own family. Joan married her husband, Les
Robinson, in 1958 gave birth to her only child Vicki and proud grandmother of Tamara.
Her home was always open for a meal, sing song, company and wise advice. Joan saw no
colour barriers and allowed no barriers to prevent her from achieving what she set out to
achieve. Joan loyal supporter the establishment of the Balranald Aboriginal Health
Service She challenged stereotypes and racism, just by simply being who she was a hard
worker and a woman of great faith that could never be swayed always living by the
ultimate law “Love one another as I have loved You”.
Joan was inducted onto the Victorian inaugural Indigenous Honor Roll 2012.
Quote from Joan Robinson
“The land is my mother, like a human mother the land is protection,
enjoyment and provides for our needs. When the land is taken from us or
destroyed, we feel the hurt because we belong to the land and we are part of
it.”
Proud Race
Mungo woman
About 42,000 years ago, Mungo Lady lived around the shores of Lake Mungo. A time of
plenty was coming to an end at Willandra Lakes, when the basins were full of water and
teeming with life. The human population was at its peak, and Mungo Lady was the
daughter of many mothers - the generations before her that had lived at Lake Mungo
since the Dreamtime. She collected bush tucker such as fish, shellfish, yabbies, wattle seeds
and emu eggs, nourished her culture and taught her daughters the women's lore.
When Mungo Lady died, we know her family mourned for her. Her body was cremated;
the remaining bones were crushed, burned again and then buried in the growing lunette.
Lake Mungo is the ancient resting place of Mungo Lady and countless other Aboriginal
people.
Mungo is the dreaming place for the Mutthi Mutthi people. It is where our people
come to hold ceremonies. Mungo is a place of love, peace and harmony for the
Mutthi Mutthi people. It is also the meeting place of the Tribes, where we held
meetings, ceremonies and traded things. The Mutthi Mutthi had a long association
with the Willandra Lakes and Mungo long before the white settlers came through this
country. The dreaming lines of the Mutthi Mutthi are still there today; and so are
those of the other tribes associated with that place today.
She stands there
Her hair whipped by the wind.
Her shadowed eyes
Deep as the rock springs of her country.
Deep, pain-filled eyes that remember a once proud race.
Aboriginal woman, passionate woman.
Ancient as Eve is the tie
That binds you to the mothering earth.
Walk with us, talk with us.
Let us know your deep, deep wisdom.
Let us know of your love
For the sacred land of your birth.
Help us heal the pain that binds us.
(Author Unknown)