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Oomera Edwards Oomera Edwards i(A112460 works by) (a.k.a. Coral Edwards)
Born: Established: 1950 Tingha, Inverell - Ashford area, New England, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal
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BiographyHistory

Coral Edwards was removed from her Koori family and raised in Cootamundra Girls' Home. She was made a ward of the state by the Welfare Board when she was a few months old. Edwards' family members are from Tingha. Edwards was one of the founding members of the organisation called Link-Up in New South Wales, which aimed to reunite Indigenous families separated by colonisation. Edwards is an accomplished pianist, artist and clothes designer. She worked as a shop assistant before beginning a Technical College course. Edwards is co-author of the anthology The Lost Children that tells the story of thirteen Aboriginal children taken from their families and their stuggle to find their natural parents.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Lost Children : Thirteen Australians Taken from Their Aboriginal Families Tell of the Struggle to Find Their Natural Parents Sydney : Doubleday , 1989 Z1470753 1989 anthology oral history Thirteen Aboriginal authors tell of the struggle to find their natural parents. The book is divided into three sections: Growing Up; Homecomings; and Reflections. The oral histories are transcriptions of taped interviews with the contributors. The contributors describe their childhood memories and experiences of the lies, deceit and suffering under government policies. Their stories are first hand accounts of their removal and placement into institutions and white foster families, and the difficulties they encountered along the way. Some children were sent to church institutions that 'wanted to created an Aboriginal working class', while others were sent to foster families. All of the children in these stories suffered the trauma of separation and many children were treated harshly and were subject to abuse. In being removed, they lost their links to family and community, and were forced to forge new identities. In their agonising search to find their real families they are confronted with a variety of confusing issues such as lack of identity, government and bureaucratic red tape, loss of family members, and the breakdown of family ties and culture.
1989 highly commended Human Rights Awards
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Last amended 30 Jun 2017 10:43:47
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