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Auntie Rita : the classic memoir of an Aboriginal woman's love and determination / Rita Huggins & Jackie Huggins.

By: Contributor(s): Publisher: Canberra, ACT : Aboriginal Studies Press, 2023Edition: Revised editionDescription: xiii, 177 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits, genealogical tables ; 23 cmContent type:
  • still image
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780855751128
Other title:
  • Aunty Rita
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 994.004915 23
Summary: 'Most people call me Auntie Rita, whites as well as Aboriginal people. Auntie is a term of respect of our older woman folk. You don't have to be blood-related or anything. Everyone is kin. That's a beautiful thing because in this way, no one is every truly alone, they always have someone they can turn to.' Rita Huggins was born on Bidjara/Bidyara country at Carnarvon Gorge in central Queensland. As a child in the 1920s, she met white men for the first time: troopers who forced her family into cattle trucks and drove them south to Barambah, later Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve. At Cherbourg ‘we had to stay in one place now, while the white men could roam free.' There were some happy times, but the only way out of Cherbourg for First Nations people was work. Rita worked as a housekeeper all over Queensland before meeting and marrying Jack Huggins. After Jack's untimely death, Rita struggled with grief and the challenges of being a single parent to three young children, and caring for extended family and community. As the 1960s unfolded, Rita watched the rise of First Nations activism the 1967 Referendum, the Freedom Rides, new Aboriginal political organisations and knew she wanted to make something better for herself, her family and for all Indigenous people. She joined Queensland's One People of Australia League and was an active member till her death in 1996. In Auntie Rita , Rita's words interspersed with reflections from her daughter Jackie reveal a life shaped by personal tragedy, the dramatic changes of the twentieth century and personal resilience. This moving memoir has been enjoyed by readers around the world since it was first published in 1994.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Notes Date due Barcode
Book Book Jessie Street National Women's Library General Stacks 994.004915 HUG (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available for reference in the library and ILL Signed by the author 90803

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are respectfully advised that this publication contains names and images of deceased persons and culturally sensitive information.

signed by the author.

'Most people call me Auntie Rita, whites as well as Aboriginal people. Auntie is a term of respect of our older woman folk. You don't have to be blood-related or anything. Everyone is kin. That's a beautiful thing because in this way, no one is every truly alone, they always have someone they can turn to.' Rita Huggins was born on Bidjara/Bidyara country at Carnarvon Gorge in central Queensland. As a child in the 1920s, she met white men for the first time: troopers who forced her family into cattle trucks and drove them south to Barambah, later Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve. At Cherbourg ‘we had to stay in one place now, while the white men could roam free.' There were some happy times, but the only way out of Cherbourg for First Nations people was work. Rita worked as a housekeeper all over Queensland before meeting and marrying Jack Huggins. After Jack's untimely death, Rita struggled with grief and the challenges of being a single parent to three young children, and caring for extended family and community. As the 1960s unfolded, Rita watched the rise of First Nations activism the 1967 Referendum, the Freedom Rides, new Aboriginal political organisations and knew she wanted to make something better for herself, her family and for all Indigenous people. She joined Queensland's One People of Australia League and was an active member till her death in 1996. In Auntie Rita , Rita's words interspersed with reflections from her daughter Jackie reveal a life shaped by personal tragedy, the dramatic changes of the twentieth century and personal resilience. This moving memoir has been enjoyed by readers around the world since it was first published in 1994.

First edition published in 1994.

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