It’s taken almost 100 years, and the truth-telling of her family, to tell Ngarigo woman Nanny Nellie's story and reclaim her identity.
For decades, a life-size sculpture based on Nanny Nellie Bungil Walker, commissioned in the 1920s, was displayed in the Australian Museum as part of a trio depicting an Aboriginal family based on offensive and incorrect stereotypes of the time.
The display depicted Nanny Nellie topless, wearing a matted wig alongside sculptures based on Wiradjuri man Uncle Jimmy Clements, and Yaegl boy, Uncle Harold Marsh.
The sculptures were showcased in a glass case, with no mention of their names, stories, or true identity as real people.
“Back then it was just about showing a dying race, that’s what the whole exhibition was about,” said Aunty Irene Ridgeway, Nanny Nellie’s great-granddaughter.
In 1925, the Australian census declared Aboriginal people a 'dying race'.
Aunty Irene said the original display was intentionally dehumanising.
“The matted hair was to make her look like a savage,” said Aunty Irene. “She wasn’t.”
Aunty Irene Ridgeway said she saw everybody in her family when she first saw the sculpture of Nanny Nellie. Credit: James Alcock/James Alcock / Australian Museum
On Wednesday night, the culmination of a family's decades-long journey to right the wrongs of the past and tell the truth about who Nanny Nellie was, as a person and a Ngarigo woman in the 1920s, was showcased.
Now, Nanny Nellie is shown as she truly was - dignified and strong.
“She looks so proud,” said Aunty Irene.
“This is where we get our strength from. It’s in our blood and I think it shows our strength. It [has] come through all the women and men in our family and that’s something we should be so proud of, to have that strength inside of you. I’m proud of it.”
Aunty Irene recalled the first moment she saw Nanny Nellie.
“I saw everybody in my family in her face,” she told NITV.
“It will always make me emotional.”
The moment was captured as part of a documentary directed by Aunty Irene’s son, Daniel King, called Her Name is Nanny Nellie.
King, an Awabakal and Ngarigo man, said as a filmmaker he has always wanted to tell Nanny Nellie’s story.
“I realised I have a responsibility as an Aboriginal filmmaker to tell our stories,” he said.
“Our story has been told by other people and it’s the wrong story. [This is] to set the record straight and control our narrative. It’s about perception and identity.”
Aunty Irene said it had been healing for her family.
"That knowledge is healing," she said.
"What we're doing and the process of how we're doing it and filling in the gaps."
The restoration of Nanny Nellie's sculpture is a story of justice and the power of truth-telling for all First Nations people to set the record straight.
The importance of First Nations people telling First Nations stories.
"Digging into the past, telling stories through Aboriginal eyes," said Aunty Irene.
"Too many times have [stories] been told through colonial eyes and they're not true.
"Now we have been given the chance to tell Aboriginal stories by Aboriginal people. That's where the truth is."
Her Name is Nanny Nellie will premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in October and air on NITV in 2024.
