Wiradjuri Elder Isabel Reid describes her life as simple, but as one of the oldest living survivors of the Stolen Generations and a relentless advocate for First Nations people, many think otherwise.
Last night she was named New South Wales Senior Australian of the Year 2021.
"What I do, I do for my community and for all children out there that need the helping hand that I didn't get, way back then," she said in her acceptance speech in Sydney.
Born in 1932, the Wagga Wagga resident was taken from her family while she was walking home from school with her brother and sister.
Her parents did not know what happened to their children.
Aunty Isabel, now 88, was sent to the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home and became a domestic servant.
Her wages were paid to the NSW government.
"I didn't get the opportunity to get a good education, so I thought when I did really 'come home', maybe that's what I'd do," she said.
"I went to TAFE and learnt to read and write and then I entered the school.
"I just taught the young children how to read and write. They taught me a lot too."
'My life's been a bed of roses'
Aunty Isabel was made an inaugural director of the Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation in 2013.
In 2016 she was appointed an inaugural member and chairwoman of the Stolen Generations Advisory Committee.
She was also acknowledged for being instrumental in the NSW Government offering a $74 million repatriation package to those forcibly removed from their families under the Aborigines Protection Act.
"I'm not bitter about anything, because my life has been a bed of roses actually," Aunty Isabel said.
"What I wanted to strive for was the Stolen Generations, which I did, and I'm very proud of that."
"My life is pretty simple, what I do I do for my community and for all the children out there that need the helping hand that I didn't get way back then."
Wagga Wagga 'lucky' to have her
Fellow Wiradjuri and Wagga Wagga Elder Cheryl Penrith said Aunty Isabel was highly deserving of the award and she paid tribute to her work advocating for the Stolen Generations.
"She always talks about it — as a Coota girl, she's had that fight her whole life," Ms Penrith said.
"She just keeps going, nothing is too much for her.
"Us in Wagga, we're so lucky to have her — she just gives and gives."
Still an active member of her community, Aunty Isabel recently led a Black Lives Matter march in Wagga Wagga.
Mayor Greg Conkey said he was thrilled she had been formally recognised for her work.
"She's an outstanding resident of this city," he said.
"A gracious lady, and I'm over the moon."
