Reconnecting to Identity, Culture and Community

7 October 2020
Dion Pearce holding UQ Reconciliation Action Plan merchandise
Dion Pearce

Dion Pearce is a proud Kuyani man from the Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia and has spent most of his life in Adelaide only moving to Brisbane in 2007. Dion is interested in technology and the solutions it provides to challenges we face and loves the unconnectedness of being in bush!

Dion commenced at The University of Queensland (UQ) three years ago as Voice Specialist within the Networks and Data Centre Team (ITS) and in early 2019, Dion completed a return to Country to reconnect and learn more about his family.

Dion has been kind enough to share some of his experiences and family history, to inspire others who may be unsure of where to begin in reconnecting to country and family.

Ruby Pearce as a young girl in black and white
Ruby Pearce at Edwardstown Industrial School

Dion’s uncle first reached out to the Nunkuwarrin Yunti's Link-Up SA Service to begin the process of reconnecting to their Aboriginal heritage and to learn about the journey and life of their great grandmother, Ruby Pearce.  

Nunkuwarrin Yunti Link-Up provides family tracing, reunion and counselling services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families who have been separated under the past policies and practices of the Australian Government. Assistance is also provided to people over the age of 18 years who have been adopted, fostered or raised in institutions.

The Pearce family knew very little about Ruby other than she was from Aboriginal descent. So, the team at Nunkuwarrin Yunti began the arduous task of researching Ruby’s history and her forced removal from her family in 1911. 

Albert and Ruby Pearce
Extract from The Advertiser newspaper of Albert and Ruby Pearce celebrating their Diamond anniversary

Ruby was one of the first children to be taken in South Australia under the new ‘Aborigines Act of 1911’ and was placed in the care of the State of South Australia for the next 11 years. During this this time, Ruby was sent to the Edwardstown Industrial School and was continually moved in and out of homes where she worked as an indentured domestic servant. The impact on the Pearce family of Ruby’s removal has resulted in subsequent generation’s disconnection from identity, culture and community.

In March 2019, the entire Pearce family (living relatives) gathered to begin a weeklong bus journey from Adelaide to Stuart Creek (north of Marree) and reconnected with their culture, people and country that had been stolen from their family. It was probably the biggest link-up mob that had ever travelled to Country together.

Dion learnt a lot about the heartbreaking experiences his great grandmother had faced and visited the locations in which they took place. Dion found a deep connection to land, his mob and the Aunties and Uncles he met along the way and continues to uncover his history to this day. Dion is very grateful for his experience and the support provided by Nunkuwarrin Yunti.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff at UQ are encouraged to celebrate their culture, history and country and are entitled to five days of cultural leave annually for cultural activities, obligations and ceremony.

Ruby Pearce with other young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
Ruby Pearce and other young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children at Edwardstown Industrial School.

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