Bob Wilson - Parkes NSW

"I was born in 1955 in Wilcannia on the Darling River in New South Wales. I was the first born of ten Wilson kids. My dear old Mum and Dad raised us kids under the gum trees on that river. My Dad is from the Dunghutti tribe from the east coast NSW and Mum was from the Barkindji tribe and we originated from the Lake Mungo tribe.

Back then, my parents and grandparents were not recognised as Australians. Or even as people. I’m not being inflammatory saying that. I am just telling you the truth. There is no lying in my life. I have never wanted to offend anybody. I'm just stating a fact.

Living in Wilcannia in the 50’s & 60’s wasn’t easy; I can say that. There was lots of prejudice, and a great deal of racism and discrimination, but we endured it. We were taught to hold our heads high and not let the racism we experienced, define us as people.

Dad and I built a shack on the Darling River when I was 10 years old. We had no electricity. Mum would fill an empty milk tin with damp soil, cut a length of felt from a hat or a strip from a chaff bag, twisting into a wick then would drench it in dripping, or animal fat, stuff it into the damp soil, light it up at the end and that would be our lights. Like a massive candle. We lived off the land. If any of us kids saw a roo down the track, well off we’d go with the hunting dogs. We lived on the river bank because it provided us with wild berries and fruits, fish, kangaroos and emus.

Once a month, we would get government rations of flour, sugar, billy tea, a tin of corned beef and maybe an old grey government blanket. The police or a welfare officer issued the rations.

I grew up in a culture filled with music. In this harmonious family environment, it was our natural instinct to get up and sing. Singing made the Barkindji spirit stronger. I sing with the spirits of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and ancestors behind me, who showed me great strength in the face of severe adversity. I learnt how to play music by ear. I can’t read music but I didn’t need to. I just copied the music from the records my parents would be playing, the old 78’s, ’75's and 45 LP’s. I would tune my guitar to the tunes of Slim Dusty, Buddy Williams or Charley Pride and other singers. I was fascinated with records and the recording process. There was lots of busking back in those days but you needed a permit which cost money. I played and sang country music most days and I had started my dream to one day cut my own record.

We were afraid to go to school. As we were not allowed to cross the bridge to go into town, white people one side of the river, black fellas on the other side. Wilcannia was a divided community back then. It still is but it's not as bad these days. And I want to reiterate that I am not having a go at anyone when I talk about the class divide that I experienced growing up. It’s just that I’m angry that a lot of things haven’t changed. A great deal has but it’s not enough. The people that run this country do not care enough to make the major changes that need to be made.

My parents were very proud of their Aboriginal heritage and they ensured us kids felt the same way. We would change white fella’s opinions of us by inviting them to our riverside shacks/homes and share food with them. And they would share their food with us. They would see that we were folks just like they were, with loving families, respectful and disciplined kids. My family was no different to any other Australian family. My parents and our family are very respected members of the community. We had our morals and values entrenched into us by our parents. They taught all of us children to respect our elders, use our manners, stand up for ourselves be strong and believe in ourselves and our culture. My upbringing helped shape the person that I am today. (Proud, loyal and honest)

At the age of 18 I tried smoking and drinking alcohol but this did not appeal to me and I have since refrained from all alcohol and smoking. I do not do drugs either. Why not? Because it’s not part of my culture. It never was and it should never have been. That stuff is so destructive to the Aboriginal people and I was brought up to stay away from it and I have.

I was very disenchanted at school because we were not taught proper history, instead we were being taught that Aboriginal people were savages. They showed us pictures and paintings of Captain Cook being speared and being cannibalised by wild savages. It simply wasn’t like that at all. This shocked me and I remember coming home quite upset and asking my parents 'Why do they depict us as savages'? Over twenty years ago, the government said they were going to bring in the real truth behind this country’s history, and make it a part of everyday school curriculum but it still hasn’t happened.

Sensing my frustration with school, my Dad gave me two options when I was 16. He said “Bob, you can get a full-time job or stay at school’? I chose wisely and started my working life. I started helping Dad with sanitation and rubbish collecting. And by sanitation, I mean the toilet buckets. No plumbing and all back then. Toilets were buckets or pans. And they needed emptying. I didn’t enjoy it much. It was literally shithouse (laughs) I also worked for the main roads department, later in shearing sheds as a roustabout. I then spent 15 years in underground mining in Broken Hill.

I obtained all my tickets for Air track operations, rock bolting, explosives tickets, all mining machinery. I became a very experienced and qualified miner in those 15 years. And I worked damned hard. I then got a great job in Canberra exploring for coal, oil shale and gas seams. I learnt a great deal about magnetics and the technology being utilised in the exploratory mining industry. We were using magnetotellurics geophysics and it was a huge operation to master. But I did and I became quite sought after by other mining companies, especially with my explosive ticket. I was never out of work. I ended up becoming the boss at my work place and I loved it. I was there for about five years.

After that I moved to Whyalla to work in the steel works. This is where my first wife Donna realised she was pregnant with our first son Tasman, who arrived in 1981. We moved back to Broken Hill for a better job for me. I wanted a break from heading underground so I got into the public service. I got a job at the local CES job agency. We had two more kids Ricky and Keshia and life was pretty good. Then in 1989 I got a promotion and a transfer to Burnie here in Tasmania. Been in Tassie ever since and I love it. Such a beautiful state and the people are fantastic.

We moved down to Hobart for a few years as I scored a great job with ATSIC. Around this time, my brother who was living in Mildura, had become a father to a young boy Clinton who was 3 months old but due to alcohol and drug addiction issues with him and his partner, they were not capable of being decent parents. So, my wife Donna flew up there and brought Clinton to Tassie. We became sole custodians of Clinton. He is my nephew but he calls me Dad which is great. I have always seen him as my son and I feel blessed to have four wonderful healthy kids.

After a few years with ATSIC, I went to Flinders Island and worked at the school as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer and I also worked at FIAAI (Flinders Island Aboriginal Association Inc.) as a parks and gardens labourer.

I was invited to a ceremony down in Hobart to celebrate Aunty Ida West (a very well-known Indigenous elder here in Tasmania) at a Christian function. I was asked to sing a song and it went down very well. A lady named Hazel overheard me telling someone that I had always wanted to record a CD but had never got the chance. So, she graciously offered me 3 hours of her time and that of a musician friend of hers. With the support of Hazel and her musician friend we made a demo of my songs which was posted to APRA (Australian Performers Rights Association) for business registration and approval to record songs.

I was then invited by the Australian Council for the Arts and Arts Tasmania to attend workshops at Invermay Arts Centre in Launceston. This is where I met the very talented Aboriginal musician Kutcha Edwards and Grant Hanson from Melbourne. I was awarded a $10,000 arts grant to record my first CD 'Bob Wilson, Barkindji Man - I Am What I Am'. My dream of having a proper recording of my own music had finally come true. Right here in Launceston.

My wife Donna and I were married for 28 years before she passed away in 2008 after a long illness. Donna was born in Dover in the south of the state and this is where we laid her to rest. After Donna’s passing I was depressed and went into a dark place and used music to comfort myself. My children, my grand-daughter and myself were living together and times were tough. I eventually pulled myself together and got a job as an employment consultant. This is where I met my second wife, Julie in August 2011 when she came to visit her daughter who worked on reception.

One day I mentioned to Julie about trying to get a tribute done for Donna. Julie being only too happy to help said “I’ve never done this type of thing before but I’ll do my best.” I gave Julie photos and videos which I had and in 2 weeks she had actually created a video montage tribute to my late wife so she got to know of me initially by editing the life I shared with Donna. A strange way to meet, but nonetheless a good way to become familiar. Julie is from Kamona, half way between Branxholm and Scottsdale. We started dating and we hit it off instantly and found that we had so much in common.

We fell in love and we got hitched in April 2013. I recall asking Julie how she will adjust to people’s attitudes towards her marrying a blackfella. She quite calmly explained that she had been raised to accept people for who they are and racism did not even enter her spectrum. So, it was a non-issue. She is an amazing woman. We are very lucky to have 16 grandchildren between us and we just love having them visit and they are all the centre of our universe.

After being married for 2 years I tried to teach Julie how to play the guitar. That didn’t work. She was just happy to listen to me and come to my performances then one day just out of the blue, Julie started singing at home and has been singing ever since. We sing duets together and Julie also sings solo. This brings us even closer together. We were meant to be.

I do a few gigs around town and work as a carer. I give my time to play in numerous aged care homes and I get so much enjoyment from it. And so do the residents. I love living in Launceston and we have a lot to look forward to. Thanks for popping in brother".
(Mostly from an interview by Humans of Launceston and pesonal communications)