Christine Oksas, the University of Illinois Health and Diversity in Sydney and South Australia 2015-16 student blogger, writes:
The vast, dry, rust-colored land here in Australia has seen so much history – some of the oldest in the world. Though at times it may be sad and hard to hear, learning about the history of Australia’s Aboriginal population has been a valuable way to begin our education in health and diversity in Australia. 

We left our accommodation at Pichi Richi to visit Colebrook Children’s Home, a boarding school where members of the Stolen Generation were housed and schooled in the early 1900’s. Three Adnyamathanha Aboriginal people; Ralph, Evon, and Stephen, told us about the history of their community. Ralph and Evon’s mother was taken away from her family at age six by white Australian missionaries, and spent the next 12 years at Colebrook with Aboriginal children from all corners of Australia. Evon shared that her mother would explain that “evening was crying time, when they cried for their Mothers. The ground, the soil, became their Mother, as they called for her. The soil provided them with food – with seeds and meat and plants. The soil gives life.”

Ralph spoke about the well-being of the children kept at Colebrook, and the mental health issues many of them faced later in life as a result of being taken from their families and forced to assimilate into western culture at such young ages. He said that many members of the Stolen Generation turned to drugs and alcohol later in life in an attempt to ease the painful memories of their past.

Colebrook has since been converted to a museum and small farm, we walked the farming area of the community where many colorful vegetables and flowers were growing. Evon picked some clear sap from a tree for us to taste. She said it used to be like candy for the children that lived at the camp. It tasted slightly sweet, and stuck to all my teeth. It was comforting to see that Evon and Ralph had turned what was once a lonely and isolated place for young children, into a prosperous farm, providing food to many people.

Location – Pichi Richi Camp; Port Augusta