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Is That You, Ruthie?
"Is that you …?" Matron's voice would ring out across the dormitory. In that pause sixty little girls would stop in their tracks, waiting to hear who was in trouble. All too often the name called out would be that of the high spirited dormitory girl Ruthie. In the Depression years Queensland's notorious Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission become home to four-year-old Ruth until her late teens when she was sent out to serve as a domestic on a station homestead. Ruthie is the central character in this lively and candid memoir of institutional life. Her milestones and memories reflect the experiences of many dormitory girls. The strong and lasting bonds that developed between them helped to compensate for family love and support denied them by the disruptive removal policy of the day. An inspiring life story, this remarkable memoir won the prestigious David Unaipon Award in 1998. In her recently released sequel Bittersweet Journey Ruth recounts, with characteristic humour and honesty, a dormitory girl’s life after the Mission.
150 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 18, 2016
Is That You, Ruthie? was a call often heard ringing out in the dormitory or grounds, as Ruthie gradually gained a reputation for misbehavior.
Ruthie was just four and a half years old when it was 'decided' by the powers that be that she was old enough to start school...which in turn meant that she was old enough to be taken away from her Mum and placed with the other girls in a separate dormitory of the Aboriginal Settlement Mission, just close enough to her mother's dormitory to not be able to see or touch her anymore...except if she was lucky, maybe an accidental glimpse across the yard now and again.
Now that Ruthie was no longer with her mother, it meant that her mother was unencumbered with looking after her and therefore able to be sent off to work...to repay their debt to the government for providing their shelter (I use the term shelter loosely)...this could mean that she was gone for months at a time, and Ruthie was afraid she might never see her mother again. Certainly it seems, nobody tried to allay those fears or offer any kind of consolation to this terrified little girl...one of so many.
It is Queensland in 1930 and Australia is in the grip of the depression, many people were being laid off work and if you were Aboriginal you were generally the first to go. Unable to find work to support his family, Ruthie's grandfather George sought advice from a friend in the local constabulary.
On the advice of this friend Ruthie's family made the decision to voluntarily pack up their meagre belongings and move to the Barambah Aboriginal Settlement Mission in search of work and with the understanding that it was a temporary move until such time as they got on their feet again.
Ruthie was just a six months old babe in arms at the time and her unmarried mother, Ruby was waiting for her [Ruthie's] father Frank to return home soon from his away job at droving cattle....on his return they were to be married.
Grandfather came back from the police station with grim news, they would have to leave for the Settlement and there was no time to wait for Frank to return from his droving work. They would just have to hope that the locals would tell him where they went to, or else he might hopefully wait for them to return when things got better...as it was after all only temporary.
19 year old Ruby was the eldest of eight, her brothers and her sisters and her parents George and Lizzie Duncan....made the hard but necessary decision for them all to leave for the Settlement until they got back on their feet, it was for their own survival.
That decision will radically change all of their lives forever and leave lasting wounds.
....... .......
Authority, and authority figures can often be so cruel! Sometimes people in such positions need to take a good hard look within.
This book is a credit to the author Ruth Hegarty and her capacity for endurance and mindfulness. Throughout it all she has stayed true to herself and her Sisters and family. Your story is out there now Ruthie, you can be very proud.
4★s
May 16, 2016
‘I have always wanted to write a book about my own life. It’s something I thought about so many times over the years, but doubt would take over and I convinced myself I would do it later when the time was right.’
This is Ruth Hegarty’s memoir, an account of the first part of her life as a dormitory girl in Queensland’s Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission. It’s a heartbreaking account of the impact and consequences of a policy which divided families, replacing family structures with rigid dormitory life. When Ruth was left for ‘just a little while’, it turned out that she remained a dormitory girl from the age of four until she married some eighteen years later.
‘Mum decided to go with her parents. She told me she decided to go because it was only supposed to be for “just a little while”.’
Ruth was one of many Indigenous children removed from her family and placed into an institution – in twentieth century Australia. The girls in Ruth’s dormitory formed their own strong, lasting bonds, their own support network. They received a very basic education, had to live with inflexible rules in very basic accommodation.
‘I don’t think any of us were aware that what we were being taught was barely enough to get into any work other than domestic service or farm labouring.’
This is an uncomfortable memoir to read. There are many reminders of how Indigenous people were (and often still are) treated differently. Many examples of the cruelty of institutional life, of punishing children for wetting the bed, for breaking any one of a multitude of rules.
As Ruth so perceptively writes:
‘Our children, through no fault of their own, could end up making the same journey as we had made, and achieving nothing.’
And:
‘If this book is not met with too much approval, I do not apologise. These things actually happened.’
Role models are so important, for all of us. And so is acknowledging the past. ‘Is that you, Ruthie?’ is an important account, of a deliberate policy that most of us would prefer to forget or ignore.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This is Ruth Hegarty’s memoir, an account of the first part of her life as a dormitory girl in Queensland’s Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission. It’s a heartbreaking account of the impact and consequences of a policy which divided families, replacing family structures with rigid dormitory life. When Ruth was left for ‘just a little while’, it turned out that she remained a dormitory girl from the age of four until she married some eighteen years later.
‘Mum decided to go with her parents. She told me she decided to go because it was only supposed to be for “just a little while”.’
Ruth was one of many Indigenous children removed from her family and placed into an institution – in twentieth century Australia. The girls in Ruth’s dormitory formed their own strong, lasting bonds, their own support network. They received a very basic education, had to live with inflexible rules in very basic accommodation.
‘I don’t think any of us were aware that what we were being taught was barely enough to get into any work other than domestic service or farm labouring.’
This is an uncomfortable memoir to read. There are many reminders of how Indigenous people were (and often still are) treated differently. Many examples of the cruelty of institutional life, of punishing children for wetting the bed, for breaking any one of a multitude of rules.
As Ruth so perceptively writes:
‘Our children, through no fault of their own, could end up making the same journey as we had made, and achieving nothing.’
And:
‘If this book is not met with too much approval, I do not apologise. These things actually happened.’
Role models are so important, for all of us. And so is acknowledging the past. ‘Is that you, Ruthie?’ is an important account, of a deliberate policy that most of us would prefer to forget or ignore.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
December 23, 2016
One of the first life stories written by an Australian First Nations person after spending a Woodford Folk Festival sitting in the Women's Circle, in the Murri Camp, with some of the most amazing ladies I have ever had the opportunity to spend time with. I had been living on mainland Australia for a couple of years by then and I was hearing first hand life stories of a history I truly knew virtually nothing about. I was in my early 40s, and there were ladies there of all ages and virtually every single one had a life story of being removed from their family.
I remember being made to feel so incredibly welcome. And each day I came back to sit with them and listen I was welcomed as a friend.
One of the many books I wish everyone in Australia would read
I remember being made to feel so incredibly welcome. And each day I came back to sit with them and listen I was welcomed as a friend.
One of the many books I wish everyone in Australia would read
June 20, 2024
This is Ruthies story in the depression years Queensland's notorious Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission.
An eye opener of events that happened years ago.
Very enlightened by what happened.
An eye opener of events that happened years ago.
Very enlightened by what happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2015
When Ruthie’s pregnant mother travelled to the Cherbourg settlement to help her parents settle in, she’d expected to return to her fiancée, and start their family together. But once she entered the facility, she never saw him again. Once inside, without her consent, she and her unborn daughter became wards of the government.
It sounds like the start of a dystopian nightmare, not a memoir.
The settling of indigenous Australians in camps is a part of our history that’s difficult to think about. But for Ruth Hegarty, it was her childhood. Ruth was a dormitory girl, one of far too many denied a full education, and sent off to be maids and workers for white families.
'Is That You, Ruthie?' isn’t an easy read. It’s the sort of book I needed to put down for long stretches until the simmering anger subsided. The system played out in Ruth’s childhood was a particularly cruel one. There’s a sadism to the actions of the authorities that makes for an uncomfortable read. When Ruthie reached school age, for example, she found herself separated from her mother, unable to interact with her even when they were dining in the same room. It’s hard to think of people forcing mothers not to interact with their children; keeping them in arms reach without the chance of any real and meaningful contact.
It would be easier, perhaps, if Ruthie was a work of fiction.
There is a long and noble tradition of well educated, often white authors and memoirists, and oftentimes we’re spoiled by the poetic phrases and the learned craftsmanship of the work. We get too comfortable with a certain style of storytelling, and it can be hard to read work that doesn’t adhere to expectations. This isn’t a story polished to high shine so much as a story being hastily transcribed as it’s told around a coffee table. It feels a lot like clutching a cup of tea and listening to a beloved elder talking frankly about their life, complete with the futile urge to do something to change what you weren’t even alive for.
'Is That You, Ruthie?' is unemotional in the way the older generations tend to be when discussing what’s truly painful. It can be frustrating at first, but as the story progresses, that matter of fact tone keeps it from being an impossible read. What happened to Ruthie, and to so many families like hers, is an enormous blight on Australia’s history, and one we often shy away from, even as its reverberations are still deeply felt.
Wise people say that we study history to learn from our mistakes; to grow and become better human beings. When the mistakes of the past are thousands of years old, it’s a far easier task to make peace with them. It takes courage to stand up and speak your truth when your childhood was spent being taught to fear those in power, and Ruth Hegarty does so with grace and compassion.
For anyone who has ever wondered about the reality of the Stolen Generation, or even anyone who wants a reason to hug their kids a little bit tighter, I’d recommend this book. Then again, I’d recommend it to everyone. Ruthie’s world is one of painful truths, certainly, but it’s also an important part of our history.
Note: this is an excerpt of a published review.
It sounds like the start of a dystopian nightmare, not a memoir.
The settling of indigenous Australians in camps is a part of our history that’s difficult to think about. But for Ruth Hegarty, it was her childhood. Ruth was a dormitory girl, one of far too many denied a full education, and sent off to be maids and workers for white families.
'Is That You, Ruthie?' isn’t an easy read. It’s the sort of book I needed to put down for long stretches until the simmering anger subsided. The system played out in Ruth’s childhood was a particularly cruel one. There’s a sadism to the actions of the authorities that makes for an uncomfortable read. When Ruthie reached school age, for example, she found herself separated from her mother, unable to interact with her even when they were dining in the same room. It’s hard to think of people forcing mothers not to interact with their children; keeping them in arms reach without the chance of any real and meaningful contact.
It would be easier, perhaps, if Ruthie was a work of fiction.
There is a long and noble tradition of well educated, often white authors and memoirists, and oftentimes we’re spoiled by the poetic phrases and the learned craftsmanship of the work. We get too comfortable with a certain style of storytelling, and it can be hard to read work that doesn’t adhere to expectations. This isn’t a story polished to high shine so much as a story being hastily transcribed as it’s told around a coffee table. It feels a lot like clutching a cup of tea and listening to a beloved elder talking frankly about their life, complete with the futile urge to do something to change what you weren’t even alive for.
'Is That You, Ruthie?' is unemotional in the way the older generations tend to be when discussing what’s truly painful. It can be frustrating at first, but as the story progresses, that matter of fact tone keeps it from being an impossible read. What happened to Ruthie, and to so many families like hers, is an enormous blight on Australia’s history, and one we often shy away from, even as its reverberations are still deeply felt.
Wise people say that we study history to learn from our mistakes; to grow and become better human beings. When the mistakes of the past are thousands of years old, it’s a far easier task to make peace with them. It takes courage to stand up and speak your truth when your childhood was spent being taught to fear those in power, and Ruth Hegarty does so with grace and compassion.
For anyone who has ever wondered about the reality of the Stolen Generation, or even anyone who wants a reason to hug their kids a little bit tighter, I’d recommend this book. Then again, I’d recommend it to everyone. Ruthie’s world is one of painful truths, certainly, but it’s also an important part of our history.
Note: this is an excerpt of a published review.
February 20, 2025
“If this book is not met with too much approval, I do not apologise. These things actually happened.”
Wow, what an incredibly important read. Ruth Hegarty’s memoir sheds light on the experiences of Indigenous Australians, and how they were taken as children to be controlled and trained purely as domestic labourers for white people. The treatment of young children and vulnerable young mothers documented in this memoir is absolutely appalling. The most beautiful part was seeing how the children formed their own family and community with each other, and forged love and loyalty that have lasted them a lifetime. This is the type of story that is so important to have to humanise and make real the generic term of ‘intergenerational trauma’. The impact of the generations of people who had their lives stolen from them because of the white Australian government is still felt to this day.
“Those experiences had the capacity to disempower any child. We who lived through them will bear the scars of this treatment for the rest of our lives.”
“We would be a forgotten generation if I didn’t write about what we experienced”
“We were at the mercy of every person who was white and had some authority”
Wow, what an incredibly important read. Ruth Hegarty’s memoir sheds light on the experiences of Indigenous Australians, and how they were taken as children to be controlled and trained purely as domestic labourers for white people. The treatment of young children and vulnerable young mothers documented in this memoir is absolutely appalling. The most beautiful part was seeing how the children formed their own family and community with each other, and forged love and loyalty that have lasted them a lifetime. This is the type of story that is so important to have to humanise and make real the generic term of ‘intergenerational trauma’. The impact of the generations of people who had their lives stolen from them because of the white Australian government is still felt to this day.
“Those experiences had the capacity to disempower any child. We who lived through them will bear the scars of this treatment for the rest of our lives.”
“We would be a forgotten generation if I didn’t write about what we experienced”
“We were at the mercy of every person who was white and had some authority”
March 2, 2019
A great quick read about Australia’s horrible history of its treatment of First Nation and indigenous people. Told through the eyes of Ruthie, her memoir shares her experiences growing up in part of our racist period of history, highlighting the ill treatment she and her friends and family faced.
March 19, 2013
This is a memoir of growing up on an Aboriginal mission. Ruth's family moved onto the mission during the Depression years when work was almost impossible to find for Aboriginal stockmen. Her grandfather had no idea what would happen to his family and Hegarty believes that had he known he never would have gone near there.
Growing up on the mission was hard and life was pretty tough. The way the people on the mission were treated is heartbreaking. That anyone could think they were doing the right thing is unbelievable. The conditions endured by the children are appalling. That Hegarty came through this experience with her spirit unbroken is testament to her strength.
This book and others like it should be required reading in all Australian schools.
Growing up on the mission was hard and life was pretty tough. The way the people on the mission were treated is heartbreaking. That anyone could think they were doing the right thing is unbelievable. The conditions endured by the children are appalling. That Hegarty came through this experience with her spirit unbroken is testament to her strength.
This book and others like it should be required reading in all Australian schools.
March 7, 2025
I love my book club for so many reasons, but especially because I end up reading great books that I’d never heard of before! “Is That You Ruthie” is a brilliant example of a book I’d never heard of, but am so glad to have read.
It’s a short little book (141 pages) that recounts a shameful time in Australia’s history, and yet somehow retains a note of hope. Ruth Hegarty recounts her time spent in Queensland’s Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission with candour and humour, and reveals many of the injustices she experienced with grace and truth. I am so grateful for her tenacity and ability to put to paper her experiences. It’s a hard story but an easy book to read. Highly recommended for any Australian, especially those seeking to be well informed by the injustices of the past.
It’s a short little book (141 pages) that recounts a shameful time in Australia’s history, and yet somehow retains a note of hope. Ruth Hegarty recounts her time spent in Queensland’s Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission with candour and humour, and reveals many of the injustices she experienced with grace and truth. I am so grateful for her tenacity and ability to put to paper her experiences. It’s a hard story but an easy book to read. Highly recommended for any Australian, especially those seeking to be well informed by the injustices of the past.
July 24, 2011
Simply written but not in an engaging way; the writing style is technically awkward and many statements unnecessarily repetitious. Though the author's mission experiences were described, they could have been more effectively integrated into a narrative to engage rather than lecture to readers.
December 22, 2012
Really sad book, but realty loved it
February 24, 2021
Is That You, Ruthie?, by Aunty Ruth Hegarty, is a snippet of personal experience, regarding Australia’s terrible history with how we treated the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generation.
Aunty Ruth went through life as a dormitory girl. Ripped from her mother when she was almost five, she went through such a horrible experience that no child or person should ever go through.
This is how we treated them. It is horrific and raw. Yet it also has sparks of hope, as Aunty Ruth found family amongst the girls she was raised with – her sisters.
This is a must-read, because it is important to remember the atrocities we’ve committed. It’s important to remember that Indigenous Australians are still being abused by our government, and that there is such a long road to go yet.
But there is always hope.
Aunty Ruth went through life as a dormitory girl. Ripped from her mother when she was almost five, she went through such a horrible experience that no child or person should ever go through.
This is how we treated them. It is horrific and raw. Yet it also has sparks of hope, as Aunty Ruth found family amongst the girls she was raised with – her sisters.
This is a must-read, because it is important to remember the atrocities we’ve committed. It’s important to remember that Indigenous Australians are still being abused by our government, and that there is such a long road to go yet.
But there is always hope.
May 9, 2023
This is an important historical memoir about the life of young girl and mother Ruthie at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission in Queensland (formerly Barambah). Essentially a segregated institution where women and men were separated from each other and separated from their daughters and sons, it is a story of the breaking of important familial bonds. In their place connections between the girls in their dorm become long lasting and unbreakable. With the bare minimum of schooling as a ward of the state and a life indentured to low paid domestic work, Ruthie has risen above life's challenges and recorded an important part of history. It is not an easy read and at times it is repetitive and dry, but this is a raw and unfiltered memoir and the lack of 'pretty prose' should not diminish its value.
January 12, 2020
Aunty Ruth’s story of growing up as a dormitory girl in Cherbourg should be read by all who want to understand Australia’s history in the 20th century. In straightforward language and with vivid imagery Ruth tells us how our First Nations people were confined, segregated, regulated and mistreated by government policies and administration. Somehow her spirit was not broken and humour and humanity shine through. An important book.
April 7, 2021
Very grateful to friends who lent this book to me, it is filled with Ruth’s beautiful & sad stories about the lives of ‘dormitory girls’ who were separated from their parents, because they were indigenous.
What an incredible woman - in fact all of the dormitory girls Ruth writes about were inspiring. I was delighted by her honesty and the stories that highlighted her rebellious nature.
I look forward to reading more of her stories and learning more about the true history of Australia.
What an incredible woman - in fact all of the dormitory girls Ruth writes about were inspiring. I was delighted by her honesty and the stories that highlighted her rebellious nature.
I look forward to reading more of her stories and learning more about the true history of Australia.
June 29, 2024
I'm honoured to have been able to read RH's story and for this to be one of my first books to shed light on the experiences faced by the Aboriginal people under the horrible horrible colonial system. I feel drawn to the experiences of the Aboriginals as I see echoes of their culture and life within my own Malay culture, and the devastating magnitudes with which colonial systems have shaken up our livelihoods.
I wish I could've read more about her life after the dormitory. her story is deeply empowering to me and makes me think of my own students.
a gripe for me — this copy is ridden with typos. consider reading a different edition if you can.
I wish I could've read more about her life after the dormitory. her story is deeply empowering to me and makes me think of my own students.
a gripe for me — this copy is ridden with typos. consider reading a different edition if you can.
March 30, 2020
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A short but honest and beautifully written book about Ruthie and the girls she grew up with the Cherbourg Mission dormitory in Queensland, Australia. It speaks of the friendship and spirit formed when these girls were taken from their families - I can’t imagine losing my baby girl or mum like this.
It’s an important book that should be on our school curriculum.
A short but honest and beautifully written book about Ruthie and the girls she grew up with the Cherbourg Mission dormitory in Queensland, Australia. It speaks of the friendship and spirit formed when these girls were taken from their families - I can’t imagine losing my baby girl or mum like this.
It’s an important book that should be on our school curriculum.
June 19, 2021
A really important story that forms part of Australian history. A shameful part. It reminded me of The Handmaids Tale, the way all the girls in the dormitory were dressed the same and had their heads shaved for minor misdemeanours. It is time for truth telling. Thank you to the author for writing this book.
January 18, 2024
A story of resilience... infuriating, moving, real and palpable.
This is only one of countless stories that could be written about the unbelievable mistreatment of humans in history. I'm so glad Ruth finally put her story to paper. I am happy for this education. Look for the opportunity to see Leah Purcell's play by the same name, based on this book.
This is only one of countless stories that could be written about the unbelievable mistreatment of humans in history. I'm so glad Ruth finally put her story to paper. I am happy for this education. Look for the opportunity to see Leah Purcell's play by the same name, based on this book.
August 2, 2025
Highly recommended read!
This should be standard for every Australian to read as it not only provides testament of the hardship First Nations have had to experience due to colonisation, yet also shows so much positivity through their shared resilience and the lifelong bonds between the dormitory girls.
This should be standard for every Australian to read as it not only provides testament of the hardship First Nations have had to experience due to colonisation, yet also shows so much positivity through their shared resilience and the lifelong bonds between the dormitory girls.
November 9, 2022
A must read to understand the brutal history of Aboriginal Australians during the 20th century and even continuing systemically in the 21st.
During the book the emotions are anger, rage and pure sadness at how we treated traditional land owners. This book is bound to draw a tear from you.
During the book the emotions are anger, rage and pure sadness at how we treated traditional land owners. This book is bound to draw a tear from you.
July 18, 2024
Read for book club, this is a very easy read. This is a fairly factual account of the terrible treatment the First Nations people received but I didn't feel I really became familiar with any of the people.
June 12, 2022
Short, strong read. Stories of incredibly cruel treatment, but also something really lovely in the way these girls looked after themselves and each other, incredible heart.
July 18, 2022
What a great read! Appauling treatment suffered by the author and a remarkable story of survival against the odds. Can't wait to read the follow up book. Definitely recommend this book.
April 30, 2024
So important to hear these stories and grieve with our brothers and sisters and commit to learn from our history and do better together.
May 1, 2024
I bought this on my trip to Cherbourg, and I am glad that I did. A beautiful, soulful, gritty look at life in a Mission. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good memoir!
July 9, 2024
An important, terribly sad and disgraceful story that should be read by all Australians. Should be part of secondary curriculum.
September 9, 2024
A short but impactful reflection on the conditions suffered by Aboriginal girl raised in a government controlled girls' dormitory.
July 29, 2025
Great insight to some dark history. Easy to read, entertaining and educational!
October 20, 2025
really enjoyed reading this auto-biography. everything was told so plainly and candidly.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews