5 May, 2015

“Under the concrete and asphalt, this land always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.”

I’m Aunty Nellie Mooney. I was born in Nowra and my language group is Tharawal and Dhurga.

I am a founding member of the Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council. I was president for about eight years and I’m now a board member.

But this is what inspired me… walking along the beach with our guest, Uncle George Brown from Wreck Bay and he said: “Nellie, “why don’t you start an Aboriginal Land Council?” I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about but it was, I suppose 15 months later when another community member opened up the Local Aboriginal Land Council. So I was a founding member.

We’ve gotta respect the peoples that come today and if I talk to children, I say: “This land belongs to all of us now and it’s up to you to look after our land.” It’s important because if we don’t do that, we’ll just fade out with today’s politics, you know, they’re just destroying so many Aboriginal organisations.

It’s important for us to educate the younger Aboriginal students coming up – for their future and the future of their children.