Lola Edwards
Lola Edwards (née McNaughton, 1946–2011) and was a founding member of Link-up (NSW). Edwards was a strong advocate for
Early life
Lola McNaughton was born in 1946
When she was four years old, in 1951, Lola was taken away with her older and younger sisters and her brother Gordon from her family by the Aboriginal Welfare board. They were picked up and taken to the train at Inverell to Sydney, her brother Gordon was separated at Central Railway Station, then Lola and her sisters were put on the train to Cootamundra.[4] Edwards didn't see her mother until many years after and never met her father as he died before she was released.[5]
Cootamundra Girls Home
Edwards spent 11 years at the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls in NSW,[2] where she was taken after being removed from her family. This institution opened from 1912 and closed in 1969. Girls there were trained to be domestic servants; Edwards was trained to be telephonists and then worked at the home, while others did typing courses.[4]
Edwards did not go back to visit the home until 1980, 31 years after she was placed there.
Work
When Edwards was 16 years old, she was placed out to work in the township of Junee, where looked after a baby and a little boy. The couple she worked for owned a local taxi service and Edwards would clean the house, do the washing, do the cooking and man the taxi base.[4]
Years later she married Bill Edwards,[7] and moved to San Francisco, United States. While she was living in San Francisco she got a phone call from her sister asking if she wanted to come down and meet her mother. The reunification with her mother made Edwards decide to move back to Australia and find out more about her family and lost culture.[6]
Edwards' sister started Link-Up with Dr Peter Read and Edwards became very passionate about the organisation. When Edwards started her work with Link-Up, she was required to go down and do the searches for people who asked them to, for their files at the
Achievements and recognition
Edwards won the Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Award at the annual Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Awards in Sydney on 9 December 2011. The award recognises individuals with a proven track record in promoting and advancing human rights in the Australian community on a not-for-profit basis. Bill Edwards, her husband, who accepted the award, said: “This is a true acknowledgement of Lola’s lifetime passion of seeking social justice for Aboriginal people and especially for those members of the Stolen Generations who continue to be disadvantaged.” In 1995–96, together with the late Carol Kendall, Lola was appointed to the specialist team for Link-up (NSW) which travelled extensively throughout NSW conducting 30 preparatory forums to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including members of the Stolen Generations, to give evidence to the Australian Human Rights Commission's Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal People from Their Families. Lola was also the inaugural chairperson of the National Sorry Day Committee.[7]
References
- ^ "Edwards, Lola (1946–2011) – People and organisations – Trove". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b c admin. "2011 Media Release: Commission mourns the late Lola Edwards (McNaughton)". www.humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b "In memory of our beloved sister, Lola Edwards – Link-Up NSW" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Albert's gift (part 1) – Lola's story". Radio National. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ "Lola Edward's Story". www.stolengens.org.au. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ a b Staff, Source. "Video: A member of Australia's 'stolen generation' remembers". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ a b "SNAICC | News". www.snaicc.org.au. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
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