James Wandin - Family

Family

James Wandin was a great-great nephew to William Barak, the last traditional ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan. He was the last person born at Coranderrk Station, in 1933, in the home of his grandmother, Jemima Wandin. When the Station was closed in 1923 Jemima Wandin was one of 5 elderly people who refused to leave. She is buried in the Coranderrk Cemetery. His father, Jarlo Wandoon, tried to enlist for World War I, but was rejected due to being an Aboriginal. When he attempted to enlist under his whitefella name, James Wandin, he was accepted into the army and served in France and is listed under that name on the honour roll in the Healesville RSL. On returning home Jarlo Wandoon had to get permission from the police to visit his mother, was escorted onto Coranderrk, and was only allowed half an hour with her before he was sent to off to the Lake Tyers mission in Gippsland. Much of Coranderrk was divided up and sold for soldier settlement allotments. Jarlo found work with the Postmaster-General's Department, and was able to buy a block of land at Healesville – a home for his family on Wurundjeri land.

Read more about this topic:  James Wandin

Famous quotes containing the word family:

    Family lore can be a bore, but only when you are hearing it, never when you are relating it to the ones who will be carrying it on for you. A family without a storyteller or two has no way to make sense out of their past and no way to get a sense of themselves.
    Frank Pittman (20th century)

    The family that perseveres in good works will surely have an abundance of blessings.
    Chinese proverb.

    If a family lives in harmony, all its affairs will prosper.
    Chinese proverb.