In 2020 Cultural Resilience Hub began recording stories of the Survivors of Cootamundra Girls Home with the Coota Girls Home Association.
Capturing their stories about their time in the home, and to speak about their life after the home. The Aunties have talked about what is important to them and what they feel comfortable with sharing.
- The Cootamundra Girls Home was fundamental to the process of removing Aboriginal girls. When removed, Aboriginal girls were trained to become domestic servants and farm hands in wealthy non-Aboriginal households. Girls in the homes were referred to as ‘inmates’ and parents were unable to regain access to their children until they turned 18yrs, and in many cases never again.
- The final part of the year was getting the Cootamundra Survivor Stories through the process of ethics and beginning to prep to record with the elders of this community.
- These interviews will be used to tell their story for generations to come.
- Coota Wagga Train Unveiling Video
Annual report information on Sorry Day
The recording and editing of the Aunties story has been ongoing. We have now completed 19 stories (17 videos and 2 audio) we have one final one to do for the data archive website, and we have been able to work heavily on building a record of where other stories are of the Cootamundra women before them.