DISCLAIMER

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material. 

Ascension is honoured to receive the support and blessing of the Matriarchs descendants to celebrate their legacies. May we treasure and uplift Herstory.

 

SAY HER NAME

It was 2018 and the NAIDOC theme Because Of Her We Can was announced. Naturally, the theme intrigued me, and I was excited to find out more. I read through the list of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trailblazers who made herstory. Some names I knew and many I didn’t. I felt a pang of embarrassment. At my age, why didn’t I know who these matriarchs were? And I wondered how many others were in my position.

Aside from the shame at my ignorance, a tremendous sense of pride welled inside of me. It was time to let the world know just who these phenomenal women were. And this is where the inspiration came to create the Because Of Her We Can tee.

I hope my Because Of Her We Can t-shirt instils the same joy and pride I feel every time you wear her. Every time you say her name.

Come on, let’s discover their magic!

 

 

Barangaroo

 

Barangaroo was a powerful Cammeraygal leader of the Eora Nation at the time of European colonisation. Independent and strong, she had her own way of dealing with the early settlers.

Learn more about Barangaroo here. Watch.

Image: Google Sites. Words: Barangaroo.com.

 

Truganini

 

Truganini was a defiant, strong and enduring individual even to her last breath. She is a symbol of the survival of the Tasmanian Aboriginals and her life epitomises the story of European invasion. 

As a young girl, she was taught her culture but when Aboriginal life was disrupted by European invasion this changed her forever. Despite witnessing the most horrific crimes against humanity, Truganini believed the only way to fight against white invaders was to learn their ways in order to gain empathy.

Learn more about Truganini here. Listen.

Image: British Museum. Words: Andrea Booth, Luke Briscoe, NITV News.

 

Celuia Mapo Salee

 

Celuia Mapo Salee was part of a group of Meriam people (Murray Islanders in The Torres Strait) who lodged a case with the High Court of Australia for legal ownership of the island.

In May 1982, five Torres Strait Islanders: Eddie Koiki Mabo, Sam Passi, Reverend Dave Passi, James Rice and Mrs Celuia Mapo Salee, launched a legal challenge that altered the legal and social understanding of the impact of settlement on traditional Australians and their legal relationship to land, which became known as the Mabo case.

Learn more about Celuia Mapo Salee here. Read The Mabo Story. Watch Mabo.

Image: Mabo Family Collection, RightNow.org.au. Words: CommunityIndustryGroup.org.au

 

Eleanor Harding

 

During the 1960s, Eleanor was involved in a national campaign to secure equal rights for Indigenous Australians, as a member of the Aborigines Advancement League and the Victorian branch of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). She was part of the latter's push for constitutional change, which resulted in the 1967 Referendum.

Learn more about Eleanor Harding here. 

Image: Koorieweb.org. Words: AboriginalVictoria.vic.gov.au.

 

 

Oodgeroo Noonuccal

 

Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920 - 1993) was an Aboriginal rights activist, poet, veteran, environmentalist and educator. Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal previously known and is often referred to as Kath Walker. In 1988 she adopted the name Oodgeroo (meaning 'paperbark tree') Noonuccal.

Learn more about Oodgeroo Noonuccal here. 

Image and words courtesy of Deadly Story.

 

Dr Evelyn Scott

 

Dr Scott was a driver of the 1967 referendum, a momentous turning point in Australian history where more than 90 per cent of voters chose to delete discriminatory references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. Then, in 1973, she became the first General-Secretary of the Indigenous-led Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

Learn more about Dr Evelyn Scott here. 

Image: Bupa. Words: ReconciliationAustralia.org.au.