Is That You Ruthie?

by Ruth Hegarty

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 lifestory, 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Australia, Autobiography, History, Indigenous

141 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1999

Reviews

[Jülie ☼♄  · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘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

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Nicole West · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kylie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Iona Carys · Rating 4 out of 5]

“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”

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Meredith Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sad book, but realty loved it

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is That You, Ruthie? is Ruth Hegarty’s memoir of being a “dormitory kid” in a government-run institution in Queensland after being taken from her mother as a young child. Rather than being raised within a family environment, she grew up in a dormitory setting with other Aboriginal children, where care, comfort and basic necessities were often minimal. In place of family life, the children formed their own fragile but meaningful community with each other—something that comes through in the book with moments of warmth, humour and shared resilience alongside the deprivation.

Hegarty describes a childhood shaped by scarcity and control. Even basic needs were not reliably met, yet the children found ways to survive and support one another within the confines of the institution. That sense of improvised solidarity among the children is one of the most striking aspects of the memoir, and it prevents the book from becoming solely a record of loss. There are moments of genuine connection and even joy, which sit in uneasy contrast to the conditions they were living under.

At around 14, the children were sent out into domestic service, working for families for extremely low wages, much of which was withheld to cover their “expenses”. This transition marks a stark continuation of control rather than independence, and Hegarty does not soften the reality of what this meant: children being placed into labour arrangements with little autonomy or protection.

What also emerges clearly is Ruth herself. She is intelligent, observant and resourceful, with a strong desire for autonomy that runs through her early life. She is outspoken and, at times, rebellious, but always very human and very likeable. The memoir does not present her as a symbol or abstraction; she is a child trying to assert agency in an environment designed to strip it away. There is something deeply unsettling in the contrast between her personality and how she is treated—a child effectively rendered into labour within a system that offered minimal regard for her wellbeing.

Ultimately, the book is a direct account of a government policy that disrupted families and communities on a wide scale, and of its lived consequences for one girl. It is not only a personal story but also a historical record that speaks to a broader national experience that is still not widely understood.

It is a book I think every Australian should read—not only to understand this history more fully, but to appreciate the resilience of those who lived through it, and the human cost of policies that separated children from their families.

Thanks to Libraries ACT for lending me an audio version of the book, which is very very read.

[Ruth Garlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Robyn Davill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking memoir from Ruth Hegarty about her childhood spent being raised at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission in QLD. Her whole family were moved to the area due to lack of station work for her grandfather during the Great Depression. On arrival they were split up, and her life from then on was institutionalized as a dormitory girl, with no choices and limited freedoms. Many lifelong friendships were made amidst the girls. They were under the Aboriginal Affairs Dept being trained to be domestic workers for station families.
Ruth began domestic service at age 14 but always railed against injustices and fought for her rights.
Highly recommended.
I will be reading her follow up memoir,Bittersweet Journey which begins with her married life.

[jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

this gorgeous, devastating memoir is proof of the importance of protecting stories and physical media so that history is not forgotten. Ruth Hegarty writing is powerful and equally warm. Her story — and by extension, the other girls and women mentioned throughout — is truly inspiring.
The fact that the events that took place were less than 100 years ago is equally terrifying and infuriating. This needs to became apart of the education systems mandatory curriculum.
This powerful story or loss, strength, resilience, family, history, love, friendship, trauma and so much more is so important and will now hopefully be remembered forever.

[Trish Quirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Lisa Hoskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Duchesne Markham · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever want a snapshot of what life was like as an Aboriginal dormitory girl in the 1930-60s, you need to read this. A raw and matter of fact account of a childhood that no one should have had. Being removed from her mum as a 4 year old, the harsh way of life in a dorm, being forced into awful work conditions once she came of age. Yet despite it all, beautiful reflections of community and love and hope. I highly recommend this book.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[R.D. DeLisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Danaë Paternoster · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Saskia Harazim-Anderssen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book reading it in only half a day. I enjoyed the immersive experience into the authors younger world. History coming alive, with a glimpse into lived experience of Australia’s haunting past while also revealing the strength of these young women, their resilience. The story is tender and quietly devastating.

[Bina Khalfay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving memoir of an Aboriginal girl's life at Mission school during White Australia colonial times.
I believe this should be part of school curriculum as mandatory reading. Anyone who moves to Australia and wants to learn about the history should read this too
I want to read the whole series of First Nation Classics after this one

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important account of how Aboriginal children were separated from their parents at the mission im Queensland and how they were institutionalised. Heartbreaking but beautifully written and Ruth is absolutely admirable in standing up for herself, and ultimately through this book, for all the girls in that dormitory.

[Elijah Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Alannah McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a personal and captivating read. I think this is a great and easy introduction book to understand the depth of our First Nations history. I enjoyed learning more about the missions and what life not only looked like, but felt like, for those who endured the separation.