If everyone cared: Autobiography of Margaret Tucker

by Margaret Tucker

At the age of thirteen Margaret Tucker—Lilardia—left school. Left school? Was snatched from school, by the police! Taken forcibly from her part-Aboriginal parents to be trained as a domestic servant.
Lilardia was born in 1904 on an Aboriginal settlement on the New South Wales-Victorian border. Her memories of her early years are the happiest part of her story. There was no government assistance then, but there was freedom to enjoy a carefree childhood: swimming and fishing in the rivers and lakes, going walkabout with her old uncle and aunt in their buggy, listening to the legends and learning the lore of the tribal elders, being taught by the kindly missionaries.
All this came to an abrupt end when Lilardia was sent to the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls. The horror of the training, the cruelty of her first employer in Sydney, the loneliness, homesickness and heartache she felt are related without sentimentality, malice or self pity.
Throughout a life span from Mission to MBE, Lilardia’s religious beliefs have sustained her in her times of trouble: poverty, racism, a broken marriage, the sometimes hopeless task of helping her own people. She is a true Christian and a true Australian, not only in her race, but in her heartfelt love and concern for her country and in her hope that one day all she has worked for will come to pass: that all Australians, black and white, will live together in harmony.
This is a simple tale of humour and sadness, adventure and legend. It is, incidentally, of great historical importance. But it will appeal as the story of a brave, dedicated woman and her struggle through a life of hardship towards the achievement of recognition for herself and her people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia

205 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Joan Garvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this life story by Margaret Tucker. Margaret came to know many of significant Aboriginal leaders in Australia of her time. She is interviewed for a fabulous documentary Lousy Little Sixpence that was made, I believe, in the 1970s and has become landmark. Margaret lived through a very bad time for indigenous people in Australia and certainly this is evident from her descriptions of everyday life though throughout she remains grateful for everything she had and certainly has a lot of love for her mother, aunties, father, what she calls the old people or the elders who lived among the community in which she grew up. Margaret describes being taken from her family and the traumatic effect that had on her mother, a description that haunts me (as I heard about this in the documentary listed above). She was taken to the Cootamundra Girls School where aboriginal girls were taught to be domestics and were sent out to families to work. The conditions she suffered during this time were appalling. She was often hungry and was paid a pittance. With little opportunity to leave this was essentially a form of slavery that calls for recompense. It was religion that helped Margaret to live through those times. There was one occasion while working as a domestic that Margaret took rat poison but thankfully she vomited so much this saved her life.

[Frans Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the earliest accounts of the Stolen Generations and gives a firsthand account of growing up black in Australia in the early 20th century. Auntie Margaret Tucker was clearly a very humble and loving woman whose insights are sadly only briefly summarised by this book. From this book you can gain traditional Aboriginal insights but her personal experiences are the main focus.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For context, all readers are requested to read previous post
https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/07/08/d...
and then my review https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/07/09/i...

[Keish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart breaking story. But so needed to ensure the world knows what happened to Indigenous Australians.