27/05/2026
Tracks Home - Wildflowers, Celina Lloyd, acrylic on canvas.
'Beyond Everlastings – Ugudungu' ABT's current exhibition is holding a 'Meet the Artists' event this Friday, 29 May, 6PM.
Aboriginal Bush Traders, shops 4-5 Smith Street Mall
Faye Parriman, Celina’s grandmother, spent her childhood away from her family at the Tardun Mission. As we celebrate Sorry Day this week, it is a time to reflect on the strength of the Stolen Generation survivors and their families. This is Fayes’ story, passed on to her granddaughter to paint:
At Tardun Mission, some days, Nan would find herself in trouble for incidents like laughing or running late to class, normal things kids do. When she would get into trouble, she was often punished or beaten.
One particular incident occurred when Nan was around 8 or 9 years old, when she got into trouble and was punished by being forbidden to go to the cinema. She soon discovered that other girls had also been punished and made plans with them to run away while the others were gone. Nan was both excited and nervous about the adventure because she had hoped to see family but risked being caught by the missionaries.
When everyone had gone, Nan and the other girls stuck to their escape plan and left quietly from the dormitories. They snuck through the shrubs and past the first dirt road track; went around the quandong tree, and ended up on another dirt road track. They walked along the track, but in the distance they saw car lights approaching; it was the bus.
They panicked and ran as fast as they could and found themselves in an off-limits area, the boys’ area. Suddenly, they all tripped and fell into a fence. After the fall, Nan’s leg felt painful and stung. She looked down and saw it bleeding; she still has the scar today. Nan rested on the ground in pain and hid from the bus; she did not want to get caught.
When the bus drove past, they ran down the field, crossed another dirt road and reached a bush track. The girls followed the bush track and survived on seasonal bush foods like mushrooms and gum; this was enough to stop their hunger. They travelled through the day and night with very little rest.
The girls got excited when they stumbled upon the train track; they knew that if they followed it, it would lead them home to Mullewa. They placed their heads on the train track to listen and feel the vibrations of which way the train was coming from. This helped them decide which way they would go. They agreed to walk along the left side of the train track until they reached Mullewa. They later found out that they had gone the wrong way.
Nan was weak, tired, and dehydrated and didn’t want to move anymore. She found a tree and lay down under it, trying to regain her energy. This break wasn’t long, as the other girls were anxious to keep moving, and Nan didn’t want to be left behind.
After hours of walking, they arrived at a highway and saw a farm and smoke in the distance. They decided they would head towards it.
The girls were hungry and thirsty and started to give up. Nan felt numb, like she would almost die. They took shortcuts through farms and found a little shrubby tree and sat for a while. The girls then saw a white ute drive towards them in the distance and waved the driver down. It was an old white man, and they asked him for a ride. The old man helped the girls and dropped them off at the river near Mullewa.
Nan and the girls walked from the river to their families. Their families hid the children away but knew that soon they were going to be caught by welfare. The girls were home for a couple of days before they were found, and taken away again, marched back to Mullewa train station, putting them on the train back to the mission.
As they got closer, they saw the bus waiting for them. When they returned to Tardun they had to walk down a long dirt road straight to the mission dormitories.
The other mission kids laughed, yelled and teased them because they had been caught.
Nan was locked in a dormitory room for hours with two other girls who escaped with her. She could hear Margaret Mary, one of the nuns, say, "You aren’t going to be laughing soon’.
She unlocked the door and entered the room with another nun. They locked the door behind them, grabbed each girl and held them down, pulled their dresses up and whipped them with a big bamboo cane. The cane stung, leaving Nan with a burning sensation. They had lashes from the top of their backsides that went down to their legs. The Nuns left the room and returned with a pair of scissors, they sat the girls down on the chairs and cut off their hair.
Nan could hardly walk or sit, and her legs were so swollen and red that she could feel the heat coming off them for days.
This was only one of the many times Nan tried to run away from Tardun Mission.
This work forms part of ABT's current exhibition, Beyond Everlastings – Ugudungu. Three generations of women, painting the journeys they travel together. To view other works: https://aboriginalbushtraders.com/pages/current-exhibitions
