BORN at the Point Pearce Mission Station on the Yorke Peninsula in 1946, Aunty Val Brennan would go on to live in almost 10 towns and cities across the country before settling in Mount Gambier some 40 years later.
Three decades since she moved to the Blue Lake City, the wise and well travelled 71-year-old has left an indelible impression on the community and has been formally recognised on a number of occasions for her tireless volunteer work.
A member of the Council of Aboriginal Elders of South Australia and board member at Pangula Mannamurna, Aunty Val has not only immersed herself in the Mount Gambier community, she remains connected with the Narungga people and indigenous groups across the state.
“My mum was a Narungga person, but I was the only one of my siblings born at the mission on the Yorke Peninsula,” Aunty Val told The Border Watch.
“My younger siblings were born in Kingston.”
Aunty Val said her fondest memories during her formative years at the seaside town were endless summer days at the beach.
“We went to the beach a lot, everyone who lived in the vicinity of the town would come in in their utes and we would spend the day at the beach and light a campfire,” she said.
“There were a number of families we grew up with in Kingston and we were all quite close.”
An avid sportsperson, Aunty Val played netball, basketball, badminton and tennis growing up.
“I wasn’t great at tennis, but I was alright,” she said.
Aunty Val confessed she was not a strong student, though she did complete one year of high school.
“I missed a lot of school when I was younger because we lived on the outskirts of town,” Aunty Val explained.
“Sometimes my brother would dink me on his bike or we would walk in, but mum never used to send us to school a lot.
“I made it to high school, so that’s something.”
Following one year in the Adelaide Hills where she attended Blackwood High School, Aunty Val returned to Kingston SE in 1960.
“I moved back to Kingston when I was 17 or 18 years old and worked domestic jobs as a waitress and kitchen hand,” she said.
“For a brief stint I moved to Keith to work as a nanny, helping out a young couple with their babies.
“I was the oldest girl of 13 children so I had experience with babies, I helped mum out a lot.”
An enticing offer to work for the Victorian Railways prompted a move across the border around a year later.
“My aunt and uncle worked for the Victorian railway and I landed a job working on the railway gates,” Aunty Val said.
“That’s where I met my husband who was living in Melbourne at the time and working as a tram conductor.”
The young couple were married in Kingston a short time later and raised five children together.
“My husband and I have since separated, but we raised three daughters and two sons together,” Aunty Val said.
“After he left his job in Melbourne, Peter worked at a sawmill in Nangwarry and he was transferred often, so we moved quite a bit and lived in Penola, Creswick and a few other towns in Victoria.
“We finally settled in Mount Gambier when my youngest son was four.”
The pair owned a soft drink business and managed “quite a good trade” with door-to-door sales and home delivery.
“I volunteered with a women’s shelter while I was doing some piecework in crayfish picking,” Aunty Val said.
“I ended up landing a job at the shelter and worked there for six years.
“I’m on the board at Pangula now and spend most of my free time with my children and my 10 grandchildren.”
Speaking to The Border Watch during NAIDOC Week, Aunty Val said the South East community had come a long way in embracing indigenous people and culture since her childhood in Kingston.
“There was a bit of discrimination – we found it hard sometimes at school,” she said.
“I think there will always be ignorant people, but we managed and I feel like I’m a stronger person for it today.
“I watched my children and now I watch my grandchildren grow up and it’s much better today – it’s all to do with sport I find, there is still a lot of discrimination on the football field and you see that even at a national level.”
Aunty Val said she was delighted to attend NAIDOC Week events and see non-indigenous locals celebrate indigenous culture.
“It was lovely to go to the NAIDOC morning tea at the ambulance station on Tuesday,” she said.
“I was overwhelmed by the generosity and the warmth.
“I feel things are moving in a good direction for Aboriginal people.”
