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Warrior woman symbol of Gunggari Nation’s strength
Listening to Aunty Lynette Nixon speak about the Yumba
[home], it is easy to picture the intoxicating heat, the clear running rivers and the rustling leaves of the trees lining their banks.
Aunty Lynette is a woman of the Gunggari Nation. Throughout her adult life she has worked tirelessly, and fought valiantly, to break down the negative stereotypes towards her people, to restore their land, and to ensure all Aboriginal peoples receive the health care and education every Australian deserves.
“I just wanted to make things better for Aboriginal people – to break down the racial barriers.
“Aboriginals contribute so much to the community.
“Living in the town for a start, but also working on the properties, working at the hospitals and at the schools.”
The town (and community) Aunty Lynette grew up in, and still lives, is Mitchell, Queensland. She says no matter where her work or travels take her, and regardless of the challenges she had to overcome, she will always return to the land she calls home.
“That [Mitchell] is where I belong.
“The Yumba is where I come from, it’s where I’ll always be going back to.”
The land of the Gunggari Nation spans from the headwaters of the Maranoa River in Mount Moffatt (north) to the junction where it joins the Balonne River in the south. The 37,100 square kilometres of Queensland’s Maranoa region (between the towns of Charleville, Mitchell, St George and Bollon) were fully recognised as Gunggari land in 2019 following a third Native Title determination. The land determinations were the result of a series of tough and long-fought battles, with warriors like Aunty Lynette at the forefront.
“I remember, when I was young, people tried to stop us going to the pool.
“But it was a war memorial pool and our mob fought in both world wars so they couldn’t stop us.
“They [the Native Title determinations] took 27 years and we lost people along the way, a lot of our elders and a lot of our young people.
“At times it made me sad and disappointed, but I’ve never been angry because anger doesn’t get you anywhere.
“You have to draw strength from having to fight, from not giving in.”
The determinations and subsequent funding have allowed the Gunggari Nation to re-establish their homeland, which has resulted in people returning to reconnect. Aunty Lynette has mostly happy memories of growing up on the Yumba with her seven brothers and close extended family. She acknowledges her story is not shared by all Gunggari people, with many taken away as young children to missions and/or growing up in foster homes.
“Belonging to the big mob you are never alone.
“But the people who were taken away, they didn’t know who they were or where they came from and it was harder for them.
“But they come from here, and they know who they are now and they’re coming back to heal and to rejuvenate.”
“Strength always comes from the land, your extended family and the big mob.”
It’s that connection and belonging which keep Aunty Lynette fighting for the land and what it represents to her Nation.
“The land is home and it will heal your spirit.
“If you’re feeling down or worn out, you can come home, to this place, and then when you go away, you feel so much better.
“But you better be on your best behaviour when you’re there because the spirits, our ancestors, are in those trees looking down and watching everything!”
The fights for Native Title determination, improved health care and education were about survival for her people, and Aunty Lynette is proud that her legacy has become an inspiration for young Gunggari people. From assisting the University of New England with research into Aboriginal health in south-west Queensland in the 1980s and 1990s, to writing non-fiction and children’s books that are used to teach Gunggari history and language in local schools, Aunty Lynette’s role has become that of a cultural keeper of knowledge for past, and future, generations.
“That’s what you do it for, you do it for the future generations.
“I don’t want our culture and heritage to die or not to be around – it’s very important for it to be carried on.
“A lot of the young kids are taking on the jobs now.
“They’ve stepped up and they’re on the boards, they’re on the committees, they’re fighting the fight and that gives me pride
“They also understand, very importantly, that when you’re doing something like this, you have to make sure you’re doing it properly and doing the right thing.”
Reflecting back on her achievements and successes, there is no doubt in Aunty Lynette’s mind that her strength to persevere came from the land.
“If you look after the land, the land with look after you.
“It [the land] makes you strong, it keeps you going and not enough people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, understand that.
“It becomes a part of you and so I will always return to our land.”
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