My grandmother walked the rabbit-proof fence

Lives Less Ordinary

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.6 • 814 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maria's grandmother was forcibly taken by Australian officials, but made a daring escape.

As children Maria Pilkington's mother and grandmother were both among the Stolen Generation, removed from their homes to be trained as domestic servants for white families. It was part of an Australian policy dating back to the 1930s to remove mixed-race children from any Aboriginal influence. But Maria's 14-year-old grandmother escaped, with her sister and cousin, by following a pest-control barrier that went right through Western Australia back to their home. The girls' extraordinary three-month, 1400km walk home became the Hollywood film Rabbit-Proof Fence, based on a book written by Maria's mother.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Sarah Kendal Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp 0044 330 678 2784

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:42.2	Music So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. Her earliest memory is being taken from her mother at three years old.
0:46.7	Mum had been told that her parents had died.
0:50.1	The other story, she was told, that her parents didn't want her and gave her away.
0:55.1	So for a long time, she was told that her parents didn't want her and gave her away. So for a long time she was quite bitter.
0:58.0	It was my paternal grandmother that encouraged her.
1:00.5	Look, your mum and dad are still alive, you know?
1:02.3	They didn't get permission for anyone to take you, and they certainly didn't die.
1:15.9	Maria Pilkington is in her 60s now and a matriarch.
1:21.0	When she tells the unbelievable story of what happened to her mother and grandmother,
1:23.9	she is speaking not just about her family,
1:29.6	but about what thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal Australian families went through.
1:33.6	And she does it to try to heal the wounds.
1:46.7	I'm Jo Fidgin. This is Lives Less Ordinary from the BBC World Service, taking you around the world to meet some extraordinary people.
1:54.0	Let's begin in 1976 when Maria was 18 years old and pregnant.
	...

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