I was born in a time so a few of you could imagine…. a time when I was not counted as a citizen …..a time when I need a permission to marry ….not from my parents…..but from the government……
Every element of my young life was controlled by government agencies….
I was born on Gannawarra Station outside Mount Garnett…. I am the third child to King Billy and Lizzy Simmons. There’s actually no official records of my birthdate…..I’ve got no records, My parents have no records, and even the government have no records…..
It was a sign of the times….
I did however have a wonderful early life out on the station,…. going walkabout, camping …and fishing with my two older brothers Archie and Billy Junior …and also with my little sister Chloe… it was so fun and exciting …. I just love being outdoors….
When the school teacher would come out to the station to teach us children, I was more than often missing….I’d rather be on the back of a horse than in a classroom full of books. …AND I was often referred to as “ THE YOUNG JILLAROO FROM GUNNAWARRA STATION”..
I just love the bush…. and station life with the horses and the cattle…Now going mustering with my dear old dad and my brothers are a very very special and cherished memories that I forever hold.
At the age of 10 I started working on Cashmear Station ….I was looking after goats for a Mr Mont Atkinson ….but …as I grew older I assisted Mrs Joyce Atkinson with domestic duties ….
And my little sister Chloe worked alongside me…
My family worked on various stations in the Mount Garnet area but while working on Glen Ruth Station I met and fell in love with a handsome Stockman name Edgar Grant…. Edgar was a truly skilled jack of all trades….. and he was very well-known and respected in the area… now not only for his expertise in the handling and understanding of livestock…. but Edgar had skills. ……Edgar had knowledge … and his natural ability with horses were second to none…
On the …. 31st of March 1942 at the Ravenshoe Courthouse was a start of our married life. ….now in this time… it is required for us aboriginal people to obtain permission from the government to marry.
On our certificate… we had no signatures…our marriage was sealed with our thumbprints….. these thumbprints represent our commitment and love to each other….. just as a signature on your marriage certificate does today.
During the next couple years we moved to Palm Island. This is where we had our eldest daughter Edna…. however our time was short over there and we returned to Tully the next year ….where eldest son Tommy was born on the banks of the Tully river… the following year we moved back to the tablelands… where Mavis is born in the Herberton Hospital… and two years later Desley was born on GUNNAWARRA station…just like me!!!! We moved back to Tully where my youngest son Eddie was born and finally our youngest daughter Esther … who Ester well she completed our family…
And all six of my children attended murray upper State School….
We moved to Yabbin for Edgar to work with his younger brother Ernie. …They worked as timber cutters for Mr George Henry in the Davison Valley. … Edgar worked hard long hours. … I would tend to the children and keep the home fires burning. It’s a great life….
Edgar and I gained the respect of many, many people. We had very strong work ethics exceptional skills…..
in 1966 our first granddaughter was born… followed by three grandsons…Stephen ,William ,and Michael…when Michael the youngest was six months old…. The three boys came into our care, with the help and assistance of their father and aunties…these boys filled our home with so much love.
A few years later when we were looking after the boys….I suffered a very heavy blow….. my dear husband Edgar ….suffered a stroke which left paralysed.
Now for me ….life was all about my family.
MY Family…with all their support .. and their love….and their care …. made it ok to keep Edgar at home with us….The importance of keeping all the family together was my top priority…And for my Edgar …., he continue to live in our home in Campbell Street for another 12 years….but… then ….after 45 years of marriage … my world fell apart. … ….My beloved Edgar passed away….. on 30 January 1987.
He was my most trusted and loving best mate. ….He was no longer by my side….. losing Edgar was such a difficult and heartbreaking time for me.
He was no longer there to help me…… but me being me the determined woman I am…..
I had to learn to face whatever life had to offer me…..NOT long after losing Edgar…, I also had to say goodbye to my eldest son…. my daughter ….and grandson….. a short time later… my two youngest children…..
With so much pain and sorrow …I remained true to myself….AND I didn’t let my troubles stop me from being me…..
NOW Many of us here tonight would remember MAMIE GRANT in someway or another… whether it be seeing her walking into town from the Campbell Street house…Always in a lovely dress… with a smile and a wave ….and she did enjoy a little chat…
Or…driving past the Campbell Street house …where every year, with the help of her great grandchildren…. She would time the annual flowers to be perfectly in bloom …for the Cardwell Shire gardening competition…. which every year she received a special acknowledgement award for efforts….
NOW Little Nanna or “wiggy”which means older person …as most of her family affectionately call her…
WELL….Mamie was-the matriarch of the Grant family …the glue that kept them together…
Mamie was the wife of Edgar…
The very loving mother of six… The grandmother to 20 ….andThe great grandmother to 50+
Mamie was a true lady…who was respected and loved by all….MAMIE GRANT was THE YOUNG JILLAROO FROM GUNNAWARRA STATION…
Written & Spoken by Jane Henley
Tully 100
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