Daisy Kadibil (''née'' Burungu; 1923 – 30 March 2018) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

woman whose experiences shaped the 1996 book '' Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence'', written by her niece

Doris Pilkington Garimara Doris Pilkington Garimara (born Nugi Garimara; c. 1 July 1937 – 10 April 2014), also known as Doris Pilkington, was an Aboriginal Australian author. Garimara wrote '' Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (1996), a story about the stolen generati ...

and the subsequent 2002 film ''

Rabbit-Proof Fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from ...

''. Kadibil was a member of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

, who were Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families by the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

Early life

Kadibil was born in 1923. Her mother was of the

Martu people The ''Martu'' (Mardu) are a grouping of several Aboriginal Australian peoples in the Western Desert cultural bloc. Name The Martu people were originally speakers of various Wati languages in the Western Desert dialect continuum whose identit ...

and her father Thomas Craig was of English descent, making her "

half-caste Half-caste is a term used for individuals of Multiracial, multiracial descent. The word ''wikt:caste, caste'' is borrowed from the Portuguese or Spanish word ''casta'', meaning race. Terms such as ''half-caste'', ''caste'', ''quarter-caste'' an ...

" in the eyes of the Australian government. In 1931 when Kadibil was about 8 years old, she was removed from her family in the Jigalong Community by the Australian government and sent to the

Moore River Native Settlement The Moore River Native Settlement was the name of the now defunct Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal settlement and internment camp located north of Perth and west of Mogumber, Western Australia, Mogumber in Western Australia, near the Source ...

. Her sister Molly Craig and cousin Gracie, whose mother was Daisy's aunt, were also taken from home and sent to Moore River as well. Daisy and Molly shared a father, Thomas Craig, making them both half-sisters and cousins. The girls stayed only one night in the internment camp before making their escape to travel home. Estimates of their journey range from long. The trip took the girls 8 weeks to complete; they used Australia's

rabbit-proof fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from ...

as a guide to travel north. The journey home was difficult, as the girls had to sleep under bushes or in rabbit

burrow file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal lo ...

s. Molly carried each of the younger girls in turn as they evaded search parties sent out by

A. O. Neville Auber Octavius Neville (20 November 1875 – 18 April 1954) was a British-Australian public servant who served as the Protector of Aborigines, Chief Protector of Aborigines and Commissioner of Native Affairs in Western Australia, a total te ...

; they also found their own food. Farmers and hunters aided the girls by giving them food as well.

Book based on her experiences

Kadibil's niece

, who was Molly's daughter, authored '' Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence'', which was published in 1996. Doris had also been sent to the Moore River internment camp, and was not reunited with her mother Molly for 20 years.

Later life, legacy and death

After winning the Deadly Annomination Award in 1995 for her community work and abilities, Kadibil worked as a housekeeper and cook on stations in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. She married and had four children. She had children in

Wiluna, Western Australia Wiluna is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfields-Esperance region (since 2021) of Western Australia. It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. It is the serv ...

, then returned to Jigalong. Members of her family established and still head the

Parnngurr Community Parnngurr is a medium-sized Aboriginal community, located 370 km from Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. Parnngurr was originally known as Cotton Creek, the name of the ephemeral creek t ...

. She died in a nursing home in

South Hedland, Western Australia South Hedland (or Port Hedland City Centre) is a suburb of the Town of Port Hedland, in the Pilbara region in north-western Western Australia. It is the CBD of the Town of Port Hedland and is the Port Hedland Town Centre. It can be reached by th ...

on 30 March 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadibil, Daisy 1923 births 2018 deaths Members of the Stolen Generations

Early life

Book based on her experiences

Later life, legacy and death

See also

References