Bonita Mabo speaks about being a South Sea Islander, 2008

Transcript of sound recording

It was my great ancestors, they were stolen from their land in the Pacific, like Tanna Island and all of those other areas there, and they were brought out here to Australia. And a lot of my family - there was, from the Torres Strait, they were dropped off along the islands there. And our family was one of the families that was around Ingham district, all that area - Cardwell.

And we, as South Sea Islander descendants, it's only just about 10 maybe 15 years ago, or not even that, we got recognition as a distinct ethnic group. We went down to Brisbane to receive a little paper to say it, you know. And I think it's sad because we're very different people to the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. We're quiet achievers and whatever the South Sea Islanders got, they did it on their own bat without any help from government or anybody. And I'm so proud of them - what they did, you know, what they got. And the South Sea Islanders never ever asked for anything.

And I thought, well, it's about time, you know. They're talking about Stolen Generation, well our grandfathers were stolen and we're part of that Stolen Generation. And they came out and they paved the way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, around the Townsville district itself. When the boat came in there, they were marched off the boat in ball and chain and went up through a tunnel to be sold, and there's nothing said about that.

And that's what I've been going around to different schools, especially down south when I get an opportunity to do it, I go down south and I talk to people, not only schools, but to adults too, as well. And I just let them know, you know, this is what they did to our people and they chased them down like animals and shot at [them] and [gave them] poisoned water and flour and everything like that. And they say: 'Oh, you know, we didn't know that'. And I say: 'No, that's the truth. What you read in a book, it's all cover-up, all just all the good thing that makes it look good for the white man'. But the blackfellas are really, you know, when you're there they got their stories, but nobody wants to listen to their stories. And this is what we've got to get out to our children, and especially the younger generation now. The older ones got their own minds made up and they're set in their ways and everything like that. But we've got to get to the younger generation and just let them know a bit of history on what really did happen.