Winnie Quagliotti Explained

Winnifred Evelyn Quagliotti (née Terrick; traditional name Narrandjeri, known as Auntie Winnie; 1931 – 4 August 1988) was a Wurundjeri community leader. She was the great-great-niece of the Australian Aboriginal leader William Barak.

Early life

Quagliotti was born in 1931 on the Murray River between Koondrook, Victoria, and Barham, New South Wales.[1] Her father, William Terrick, was a truck driver and shearer,[1] and her mother was Jessie née Wandin. They had grown up at the Coranderrk, an Aboriginal Reserve near Healesville, before being moved to Lake Tyers Mission.[1] Quagliotti was one of ten children, and grew up in the Healesville area, and in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. She married Paul Quagliotti,[2] [3] from Trieste, Italy.[1] She had two children of her own, and fostered others.

Community leader

In 1968, Quagliotti and her husband moved to Doveton, Victoria,[3] in the district of Dandenong. She felt that her children were old enough, and began working for the Aboriginal community.[1] In 1970, with her brother Johnny Terrick and Walda Blow,[3] she co-founded the organisation which in 1975 became the Dandenong & District Aborigines Co-operative Ltd. Quagliotti served as its first chairperson[4] for thirteen years, until her death.[3] She was chairperson of a housing co-operative which helped to provide Aborigines with housing loans, and was one of the founding members of the Aboriginal Housing Board of Victoria (now Aboriginal Housing Victoria),[5] [6] serving as its chairperson in 1987–1988.[5] [7] In that role, in 1987, she received the title deeds to the head office of the organisation, the first time an Aboriginal organisation had owned property in Victoria since Quagliotti's great-great-uncle William Barak had witnessed Wurundjeri elders signing Batman's Treaty in 1835, to sell their land to a white man.[5]

Quagliotti worked at two Aboriginal Hostels Limited properties (Gunai Lodge and W. T. Onus Hostel) as a cook, cleaner and manager;[3] [5] worked to set up the Burrai Child Care Centre, which also provided family support;[3] [7] and helped establish an Aboriginal Family Aid Support Unit.[3] [7] Quagliotti also served on the council of a secondary school for Aboriginal students at Healesville, Worawa Aboriginal College, including as vice-president;[5] and was involved with Camp Jungai, a camp for Aboriginal children near Eildon, as a member and chair of the board. She is quoted as saying, "I'm so proud to look at the little kids I nursed and see them in Aboriginal politics."[5]

She is also remembered for her protest against the tall ships at Melbourne during the Australian Bicentenary.[1] [5] [8] Wearing a possum-skin cloak[5] with emu feathers around the neck,[9] and with ash smeared on her face as a sign of mourning,[5] she threw a wreath of wattle flowers into the water at Princes Pier.[1]

In August 1988, she met with the federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Gerry Hand, about Aboriginal land issues in Victoria,[5] including the ownership of Coranderrk Cemetery, Healesville. Shortly afterwards, she suffered a cerebral haemorrhage, and died in Heidelberg.[10] [5] She was buried several metres outside Coranderrk Cemetery.[11] [12] [13] Her family's request to bury her inside the cemetery was refused by the cemetery management committee, on the grounds that the historic graves might be disturbed.[11] [12] As a compromise, it was proposed to extend the cemetery boundaries to include the location of Quagliotti's grave,[11] [12] and a nearby road was blocked in anticipation of the extension.[12] Six months after her burial, the block was removed and allegedly dumped on Quagliotti's grave.[12] Ownership of the Coranderrk Cemetery was finally passed to the Wurundjeri in September 1991.[13]

On Quagliotti's headstone are the words: "You know that I have some beautiful dreams. I urge you to start work on them as soon as possible. Pull yourselves together, stick together and get the job done."[13]

Recognition

Places in Victoria which were named in honour of Quagliotti after her death include the Burrai Child Care Centre (renamed); Narrandjeri House, the headquarters of Aboriginal Housing Victoria; and a conference room at Camp Jungai, called "Aunty Winnie's meeting place".[10] A street in the Canberra suburb of Bonner was named "Quagliotti Street" after her in 2010.[14]

Notes and References

  1. News: Hutton . Barbara . A grief too great to join the party . 25 August 2019 . The Age . 22 January 1988 . Melbourne, Victoria . 13.
  2. News: Family and friends pay tribute to Winnie Quagliotti . 25 August 2019 . The Age . 4 December 1990 . Melbourne, Victoria . 17.
  3. News: NEILL . CASEY . Aunties honoured . 25 August 2019 . Dandenong Star Journal . 29 September 2014 . Dandenong, Victoria.
  4. News: Carbines . Louise . After initial rejection, Stud Road neighbors start dropping in on a black co-operative . 24 August 2019 . The Age . 15 February 1984 . Melbourne, Victoria . 3.
  5. News: West . Rosemary . Death of a leader . 24 August 2019 . The Age . 10 August 1988 . Melbourne, Victoria . 23.
  6. News: West . Rosemary . Blacks split over control of advancement league . 25 August 2019 . The Age . 22 November 1984 . Melbourne, Victoria . 17.
  7. Web site: Kovacic . Leonarda . Henningham . Nikki . Quagliotti, Winnie (1932–1988) . The Australian Women's Register . National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of Melbourne . 27 August 2019 . 23 September 2004.
  8. News: Pirrie . Michael . Day for mourning, say tribal elders . 24 August 2019 . The Age . 1 January 1988 . Melbourne, Victoria . 2.
  9. Web site: Immigration to Victoria: 1980s, Multiculturalism takes effect . Museums Victoria . 27 August 2019.
  10. Web site: Christine. McPaul. Quagliotti, Winnifred Evelyn (Narrandjeri) (1931–1988). Australian National University. Australian Dictionary of Biography. 19 August 2019.
  11. News: McNamara . Marie . Row over Aborigine's grave outside cemetery . 25 August 2019 . The Age . 10 August 1988 . Melbourne, Victoria . 3.
  12. News: Schwartz . Larry . Final insult to the grave of a princess . 25 August 2019 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 7 February 1989 . Sydney, New South Wales . 6.
  13. News: Button . James . Swap of axe for sacred site makes dream reality . 25 August 2019 . The Age . 6 September 1991 . Melbourne, Victoria . 5.
  14. Web site: Public Place Names (Bonner) Determination 2010 (No 1) . ACT Legislation Register . 27 August 2019 . Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.