{"id":511198,"date":"2026-03-01T06:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T06:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/511198\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T06:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T06:06:12","slug":"strong-and-resilient-stories-of-goldfields-elders-preserved-in-legacies-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/511198\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Strong and resilient’ stories of Goldfields elders preserved in Legacies exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debbie Carmody hopes sharing the stories of First Nations elders will foster healing and hope.<\/p>\n

Warning: This story contains names and references to Indigenous people who have died.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The creative director interviewed 10 elders from the Goldfields region in Western Australia as a part of an oral history exhibition set to open this week in Kalgoorlie, 550 kilometres east of Perth.<\/p>\n

Legacies Karlkurla tells the elders’ personal experiences with displacement. It also highlights the impact of the Stolen Generations on the community and decades of advocacy for Indigenous justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Janice Scott speaks about encouraging the next generation in the exhibition. (Supplied: Michael Jalaru Torres)<\/p>\n

“We talk in really culturally safe and secure ways, and it allowed the elders to be able to have a quiet time and reflect upon their stories,” Ms Carmody said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It brings out emotion, you know. There’s sadness, but behind that, you can hear that strong, resilient voice coming to the forefront.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Deb Carmody says the stories speak of a history which is still complex. (ABC Goldfields: Katrina Tap)<\/p>\n

In addition to the recorded interviews, the exhibition showcases photographs of the elders by\u00a0Djugun-Yawuru photographer Michael Jalaru Torres and artwork by Tina Carmody.<\/p>\n

Preserving legacies<\/p>\n

Trevor Brownley was one of two elders who died before the project was completed.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Linden Brownley recorded stories on behalf of his father, Trevor. (ABC Goldfields: Robert Koenig-Luck)<\/p>\n

His son Linden stepped in, and described his father as a “very humble man, and he most of the time let his actions speak, rather than his words, and they did.”<\/p>\n

Dallas McLean also died, one week after recording her story but before she could be photographed.<\/p>\n

Her story will be represented through an artwork she and her mentor Pantjiti Mary McLean created.<\/p>\n

For Ms Carmody, projects like this are essential to preserving the community’s heritage.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Brent Johnston wants to be remembered as a Wati and an artist. (Supplied: Michael Jalaru Torres)<\/p>\n

“Our elders are getting older and so we need to do more stories as part of a legacy to pass on down, because once that’s gone, you can’t get it back,” she said.<\/p>\n

“And as they say about elders, they’re like a library.”<\/p>\n

Artist and Wati man Brent Johnston, who is featured in the exhibition, said telling his story should make his family proud.<\/p>\n

“I just want to tell my family, you need to be respectful for everybody around Kalgoorlie and the Goldfields area, so you can be proud of yourself around the Goldfields,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Debbie Carmody says there are many more stories in the community to tell. (ABC Goldfields: Robert Koenig-Luck)<\/p>\n

Legacies Karlkurla is a project by the Community Arts Network, made in partnership with Tjuma Pulka Media Aboriginal Corporation, and interviews were recorded at the ABC Goldfields studio in Kalgoorlie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“By sharing these stories, we hope it will foster truth healing,” Ms Carmody said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think that’s a strong legacy for all of Australia.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exhibition is open at the Museum of the Goldfields until May 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Debbie Carmody hopes sharing the stories of First Nations elders will foster healing and hope. Warning: This story…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[104100,64,63,256144,256145,134,4398,6268,9967,66236,256143,256146,138009],"class_list":["post-511198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-aboriginal-history","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-community-arts-network","tag-deb-carmody","tag-entertainment","tag-first-nations","tag-goldfields","tag-indigenous","tag-kalgoorlie","tag-karlkurla","tag-mutimedia-exhibition","tag-wa-museum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}