Peggy Patrick AM: A Queen Among Men
By ABC Open Producer Beth Neate, for ABC Mother Tongue, 31 July 2014
Whenever Peggy Patrick’s name is spoken, be it by Indigenous or non-Indigenous Australians, she receives a special reverence. Peggy Patrick is a woman of singular magnitude.
A prodigious singer, dancer, artist and storyteller, Peggy has performed throughout Australia. Frances Kofod, a linguist who has worked in the East Kimberley since 1971, is collaborating with Peggy on a bilingual autobiography. She believes that Peggy’s repertoire of Kimberley song cycles is unparalleled and that her cultural knowledge is akin to an encyclopedia.
As well as her commitment to preserving her culture, Peggy has been a formidable politician; representing Gija people on the Kimberley Land Council, serving for nine years as the Chairperson of the Gooda Gooda Community and negotiating for Aboriginal rights on the Argyle Diamond Mine agreement.
Born in the East Kimberley around 1930, Peggy has lived through the profound social changes of first contact. Before Peggy was born, her mother witnessed the massacre of her parents (Peggy’s grandparents) and other family members by Europeans greedy for the fertile plains of the Kimberley frontier. These stories were passed on to Peggy and other children.
For many Aboriginal people the stories of the ‘killing times’ were hidden away, but Peggy has never been afraid to confront the region’s violent past. As Creative Director with Neminuwarlin Performance Group she helped to develop and perform Fire, Fire Burning Bright, a contemporary stage show telling the story of the Bedford Downs massacre. The production was performed at the Perth and Melbourne International Arts Festivals.
In June 2001, the then Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane, visited Warmun Community followed by Kerry O’Brien from the ABC Current Affairs Program, the 7.30 Report. Peggy Patrick and other Gija elders led Sir William to Mistake Creek where Gija people were massacred in the early Twentieth Century.
After appearing on the program, Peggy’s testimony that her grandmother was killed was contested by conservative historian Keith Windschuttle, who questioned the overall validity of Aboriginal oral history and in particular Peggy’s use of the term ‘Mum Mum’. Windschuttle assumed that she meant her mother, but Peggy, speaking in Kriol, meant ‘Mother’s Mother’ or Grand-mother. Peggy responded to this attack by contributing to the book, Whitewash (ed R. Manne); a series of essays examining and refuting Windschuttle’s historical assertions.
In spite of this controversy, Peggy continues to be a strong advocate for reconciliation. With her cheeky good nature, and charismatic leadership, Peggy has connected with Australians of all backgrounds. In 2010, in recognition of her contribution to culture and for her efforts to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians together, Peggy Patrick was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia .
Now in her eighties, Peggy continues to promote her language and culture to younger generations and it is a great honour to have such a distinguished stateswoman as the face of our new ABC OPEN project, Mother Tongue.
