AustLit

'Cheryl Moggs was born to an Irish father and Aboriginal mother, seventh of nine children.

'A descendant of the Bigambul people of Goondiwindi, Bungunya and Toobeah regions - in southwest Queensland. Born and raised on her traditional country. Cheryl still continues to live on her traditional country.

'As a young child she led a semi-traditional life in bush camps and as a fringe dweller on the banks of the Weir River at the Toobeah Reserve where she lived in a one room tin hut with no electricity or running water with her parents and seven siblings. From an early age her mother and siblings taught her to follow the seasons to collect and cook bush tucker. She also learnt to make fish and animal traps and track to catch food.

'Her schooling days came to an end at the age of nine with her siblings she went to work in the fields with her father on stations across the west. She never finished primary school nor went onto start senior school. Later in life she went to University to follow her dream of becoming a teacher. Cheryl became an Early Childhood Teacher and ventured into the VET sector to teach in the Indigenous Visual Arts, Natural Resource Management and Culture disciplines spanning 16 years. This year in 2016 as a leader and speaker for her people she will celebrate with her people a Native Title Consent Determination.'