My cousin the superstar

Confucius once said; "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall".

"Stephen, you just wouldn’t believe who I’m related to", said the gentle probing voice of an old acquaintance I haven’t heard from for quite some time.

My dear friend Julie rang me after reading my story “Silent Tears” about Rhonda Collard from Carnarvon in Western Australia who shared her commanding story of being a fourth generation victim of her immediate family who was stolen by the authorities.

Julie said she searched inside her handbag at the hospital she was attending for tissues to wipe the tears she felt trickling down her face as she read of Rhonda’s moving account.

It soon became apparent to me that my friend was also a casualty of the era where Aboriginal children were stolen or ‘strongly encouraged’ away from their families, in fact the third generation from her family. And thankfully to her perseverance and tenacity Julie, in recent times, has made the connection to her mob.

Julie’s remarkable story began with vigour in late 2005 when she was referred to Roy and June Barker in Brewarrina to assist with her search for the Flynn and Murray families. The Barkers informed Julie that she was a descendent of the Ngemba people of the Brewarrina district through her great grandmother Amy Murphy who married George Murray in 1902 and together raised a family; Trevor, Zillah and Vera. Amy later had children; Raymond, Roy, Silvester, Ernie, Mabel and John to another partner.

Julie was told that Zillah, the eldest girl born in 1905, was taken as a 15 year old to Rosemont, Sydney to be trained as a domestic by the authorities. But due to being overcome with homesickness Zillah was returned home to her family in Brewarrina a couple of years later and found work on a nearby station.

It was at this sheep station that Zillah met the shearer’s cook, Irishman Thomas Patrick Flynn from Riverton in South Australia, who she later married and had four children with; Tommy, Veronica (Ronnie), Kathleen and Reata. Zillah also had with her a daughter, Ellen, to a relationship before she met Flynn.

Years later a visiting Salvation Army lady, on discovering the hard and challenging life Zillah was leading in her hometown of Nyngan, encouraged her to give up her four youngest children. The three girls; Veronica, Kathleen and Reata, were sent to Canowindra Salvation Army Girls Orphanage and their brother Tom was taken and placed in Kinchella Boys Home in Cootamundra.

Julie was told the sisters were allowed to leave the girls orphanage on turning 16 years of age. Their mother, at around the time the girls were due to leave the orphanage, relocated from her wretched life of physical abuse at the hands of Flynn in Nyngan to Dubbo to live with her eldest daughter Ellen and it was there over a number of years the girls returned. Unfortunately the girls on return to Dubbo found their mother’s new home life far too difficult an environment to live in and chose to move on to other parts of the country to pursue their careers.

The eldest, Veronica, also known as Ronnie, moved to Queensland where she had a child to a mystery man from Toowoomba when her boyfriend went abroad to fight in World War II. The boyfriend, on return from service and finding Ronnie eight months pregnant, was most distraught and in a fit of fury, parted company. To his credit he supported Ronnie through her pregnancy and when she gave up her little girl, Stephanie, for adoption, they were reunited and married soon after. Ronnie had two more children; Debra and Karen, but sadly found the removal of her first born too great a burden to carry and turned to alcohol to hide the pain.

Ronnie soon became an alcoholic and her husband felt he had no other option but to admit her to a psychiatric unit whilst maintaining custody of the girls. Ronnie, on release from the institution, had a daughter Roberta to another partner and settled down to raise her alone in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern. Sadly her life again went into an alcoholic downhill spiral and she was forced to surrender her fourth child.

Kathleen, the second of the Flynn girls who was sent to Canowindra Salvation Army Orphanage, on release travelled to Dubbo to her mother but left soon after and found work in a baby’s orphanage in Manly. Kathleen returned to Dubbo at age 23 and around that time gave birth to Julie out of wedlock and, overcome with shame, left again for the city.

Julie said her mother fell on rough times and as a consequence she was removed from her at 6, reunited a couple of years later and then removed again at 12 due to worsening conditions at home.

Reata, the third of the Flynn girls who was sent away to the orphanage, returned home, moved to Sydney where she met a Kiwi and travelled with him back to New Zealand. Reata then moved to Melbourne after the marriage failed where she still lives today.

It was at this point of the story that June Barker asked Julie to go and buy the book The Life of Riley’. Julie, accepting the advice, drove immediately to her public library where she borrowed the book. And in the book in question she found the names of the Flynn sisters.

June didn’t allude to the author of the book or her relationship to Julie but 308 tantalising pages later Julie confided she sat dumbfounded in her favourite lounge room chair on discovering that Lin was her first cousin; Ronnie’s daughter Stephanie who was adopted out at birth and had her named changed to Lin by her new foster parents. Lin also so happens to be the mother of Australia’s Olympic, Commonwealth and World Cup multiple swimming medallist Samantha Riley.

After arranging all the parts of the family’s jigsaw puzzle into some form of order Julie finally made contact with Lin via the Australian Institute of Sport who passed on Samantha’s manager’s number. Several calls later and Lin and Julie commenced their conversation.

The magic words of ‘This is Lin Riley speaking – Is that you Julie?’ lightened up Julie’s world immeasurably.

Julie said her first words to Lin were “You’re my real blood”.

Lin explained to Julie that she began her search for her mother Ronnie back in 2000 and was bitterly disappointed to learn she missed meeting her by only 3 weeks. It was her mother’s funeral notice in the Sydney Telegraph that had brought Lin in contact with her new found Aboriginal heritage.

McLauhlin, Betty Veronica (Ronnie)
May 24, 2000, late of Redfern, loved sister of Reata and loving friend of Tony, Beloved mother of Debra, Karen and Roberta.

Lin said she tracked her mother’s sister, Reata, in Hampton, Melbourne. After an energising 20 minute telephone conversation Julie obtained the telephone number of her missing Aunty Reata. To Julie’s amazement and sorrow her Aunty Reata resided only 20 minutes drive from her mother Kathleen who lives in Collingwood. Julie said within minutes of speaking to her aunty she made a call to her mother and locked in a meeting the next day for a reunion.

The following morning Julie caught a taxi to her mother’s small unit and sat impatiently as they drove in the general direction of her Aunty Reata. As they approached the house Kathleen spotted her sister and told the cabbie to stop. The cabbie said he couldn’t stop the car in the middle of the road and hastily locked all the doors from his control panel. On pulling up near the footpath in front of her aunty, Julie said her mother became agitated as she couldn’t undo her seatbelt and her long lost sister rushed to the cab and tried desperately to open the door from outside, without success. Eventually the seat belt was unclipped, the door unlocked and an instantaneous emotional reunion commenced between sisters who hadn’t seen each other for 49 years.

“Baby Reata”.

“Ah – My Kathleen”.

Julie said the sisters took their glasses off and touched each other’s faces and kissed each other over and over again. Julie said her Aunty Reata impulsively burrowed her head into her sister’s breast and stayed sobbing for several minutes unable to release herself from the warmth of her embrace. Over a cup of tea it became apparent to Julie why there was no mention of her mother Kathleen in Lin’s book. Most of the family information contained in the book was a result of Lin locating Reata from her name in her mother’s funeral notice and visiting her with daughter Samantha in Melbourne soon after.

Reata told Julie that she heard a rumour that Kathleen had been killed in a car accident when she was a teenager. As a parting gesture that day Reata gave Julie a hand mirror that her mother Kathleen gave her for her 16th birthday.

A couple of months after the reunion Lin requested a meeting of Reata, Kathleen and Julie with Samantha and herself who were invited to Melbourne to appear on Bert Newtown’s ‘Family Feud’.

Sadly, Julie, who was sick in hospital at the time undergoing follow up procedures on a successful liver transplant, couldn’t make the meeting but said by all accounts the sisters, Reata and Kathleen, had an enjoyable time with Samantha and Lin at their 5-star Hotel courtesy of Channel 9.

Late last year Julie did manage to catch up with Lin at Wet ‘n Wild Fun Park on the Gold Coast. Julie told me she avoided telling Lin the dates of her visit to Queensland with her husband and children for holidays and it was only by co-incidence that Lin had contacted Aunty Reata to inquire of her whereabouts that her secret was revealed. Lin, on finding out Julie’s movements, made a hurried trip from her flourishing business in Brisbane to meet up with her at the Fun Park.

Julie said she didn’t take up the offer from Lin to visit the islands around the area in her boat with her family the following day because she felt insecure and out of place with her well known and wealthy relative.

Julie has yet to meet her famous cousin Samantha but said she hopes to do so one day.

As our conversation came to an emotionally tiring end I asked Julie if she had found her biological father. Julie said she felt it was inappropriate for her to dig up the past with her unknown father, who she reasoned, probably had his own children and grandchildren to worry about without any new and sudden bolts from the blue. She did say however that she was at least proud that her father, who she understands met her mother whilst serving in the RAAF in Dubbo and later rose to the rank of Wing Commander, paid her mother child maintenance up until she was 16 years of age.

I praised Julie for her incredible efforts in reuniting her family; many of which have overcome their setbacks to lead successful and happy lives today, but urged her to now put closure on her life by making contact with her father. Julie said she was exhausted after all the effort she’d put into locating her people and the bad news she received recently that the liver transplant, that prevented her meeting Lin and Samantha last year during the Bert Newtown show is continuing to cause her concern.

With a sad voice Julie said she will know in a couple of months whether she will need to be hospitalised whilst she waits for yet another liver transplant – if and when one becomes available. I could barely hold back the tears as Julie told me of her health concerns but managed to wish her well and concluded with the following remark:

"Your father could well be sitting back in comfort in leafy Toorak or seaside Vaucluse with all the creature comforts he could wish for but his heart may well be aching for the one thing money can’t buy – and that is knowledge and reassurance that his olive skin baby is well and living a happy life."

I’m confident my good friend Julie knows exactly what Confucius alluded too when he said; "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall".