Ask ECH: Connecting Through Culture_Aboriginal identity

Sue Wainwright shares her experience of discovering her Aboriginal Kaurna heritage. She found old photos that led her to investigate her family history and confirmed her Indigenous ancestry through DNA testing. Sue is proud of her heritage and encourages honesty, respect, and cultural understanding when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. She emphasises the importance of listening to clients and asking how they prefer to be supported. Welcome to Ask ECH, Connecting Through Culture, the monthly podcast about diverse backgrounds, cultures and communities. I'm Robyn Lierton, the Diversity Manager at ECH. On today's episode, I'm speaking with ECH client, Sue Wainwright, about her experience of learning that she has Aboriginal Kaurna heritage. Welcome, Sue. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Thank you, Robyn. I was born in Subiaco, about three kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia. I'm an only child and always wanted brothers and sisters. I guess that's why I had four sons. I was always daddy's girl, loved all the things he loved. He loved native flowers and we spent many hours walking through King's Park looking for donkey orchids, kangaroo paws, enamel orchids to name a few. I was educated at a Perth ladies' college and met my husband practising ballroom dancing at his college when I was 15, engaged at 19 and married at 21. We lived in Europe for 13 years. In 1985, Flinders University brought us to Adelaide. I was very happy in Belfast, in many ways didn't want to leave. However, when we received the offer, I knew it was time to go home. My darling father had had a heart attack and stroke. Looking back, I now realised I broke dad's heart by going away. We weren't just dad and daughter, we were also best friends. We wrote to each other each week, but it wasn't enough. Dad died four years after. I think of him every day of my life. I understand that you've only recently discovered that you have Aboriginal heritage. Can you tell us how that came about? After my father's passing, I found a number of photos I'd never seen. There were two photos that intrigued me, the first of my father and my two aunties. My father had dark olive complexion, Aunty Gwen was much darker and Aunty Nader was very fair. The other photo was of my grandmother Hubble's family. It showed a very large family and an Aboriginal gentleman dressed in a suit. My Aunty Gwen, dad's sister, had passed on the family tree and I discovered Alfred Hubble, my great-great-grandfather, had migrated to Adelaide in 1848 from Greenwich, England. With this information, I decided to find out my DNA through AncestryDNA. I then went to the library to learn more. This was truly eventful. The lady helping me announced that a terrible thing had happened in my family. You have an Aboriginal in your family. I wasn't surprised. I had discovered why these photos were the way they were. I also learned that my great-grandfather was Harry Archibald Hubble, not Alfred Junior. Alfred Senior's 15-year-old son, also Alfred, fathered a son, Henry (Harry) Archibald, on the 6th of December, 1866, with Jane, our family name for Harry's mother. Alfred Senior adopted Harry. He was educated at a private school in Adelaide, along with his stepsisters and brothers. He became an accountant. Sadly, I haven't been able to find out what happened to Jane. Hopefully, she was well looked after. It is very important to me that this happened. I don't know if we'd ever find out what happened to Jane, but I'm glad we've given her a name and she's just not a person. Harry married Harriet Esther Burke in 1889. They moved to Perth in 1895. They had three sons and five daughters. My grandmother, Phyllis Edna, was the second youngest daughter. I finally had my answer to my photo. I was very proud of my family. It is a beautiful story. Harry and Harriet had a very happy life together in Western Australia. They owned a camel train and hotels. The family had Afghan people working with the camels. My one disappointment is I was never told about my First Nations heritage whilst my father was alive. Not even a whisper. My cousin, who lives in the eastern states, contacted me through Ancestry and he told me his mother had said that Harry was referred to as being Afghan. I am very proud to finally understand why the photos were the way they were and I am very proud to be who I am. You spoke a little bit about what the librarian said. How did that feel? It felt terrible and I later reported her for her behaviour and I followed it through because I didn't want anyone else being hurt the way I had been hurt. I wasn't hurt by the fact that I had abuse in my family. Actually, I was really pleased and I finally worked out how all these things link into my family because we have a love of nature in our family, of being outside and just looking back through the family, you can see the thread and I feel that way too. It sounds like you're really proud of your heritage. Yes. At first, I was a bit worried about telling people but then I thought, no, if they're my friends and they think there's something poor about me, then they're not worth having as friends. I absolutely love having such a heritage and I'm only proud to tell people. I've got a special place in Western Australia and it's by the Swan River, very far up and every time I go there, I'm attracted and I asked John Lekoviak about it and he said that's how you feel if you're a First Nation person. Do you have some advice on how we can best support clients or colleagues who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander? My best advice is to be truthful, honest and respectful to their clients. Respect the individuality of the First Nations culture and respect their different understanding. You can learn a lot. Ask ECH to undertake cultural studies. Over the years, I have done several courses and before I even knew my heritage and it is very rewarding. Most importantly, listen to your client. Ask the client how they like to do things. This is very important for the client and for yourself. Thanks so much for joining us today, Sue. I think we know a bit more about what it was like for you to discover you have Aboriginal heritage and the things we need to think about when working with clients who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Join us again next month when we talk about Indian culture. This emerging community in Adelaide has a rich culture and we will learn more about how to support clients and colleagues from Indian backgrounds. Do you have a topic about diversity and inclusion that you would like featured in a future episode? Write your comments, suggestions or questions in the link below. Until next time, this is Robyn Lierton. Take care and keep learning from each other. You've been listening to Ask ECH, connecting through culture, produced by Robyn Lierton for ECH, with music by ECH music therapist, Bec Davies.