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Profile: Gavin Tye
Who is your Mob? My ancestral links (on my Mother’s side) is to Woorabinda Aboriginal Community – two hours South West of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, and with a population just under 1000. Woorabinda means “sit-down kangaroo” My Grandfather (my Mum’s Father - Oscar Munns) was the head stockman and drove the stock from the outskirts of Taroom, where our Mob first lived to create Woorabinda in 1927, at the Governments direction and without choice. Apparently the Government had intentions of building a dam on the outskirts of Taroom, but once my ancestors were moved on, the dam never eventuated, and it’s hard not to be cynical that the dam was never going to be built. Now it’s reported that there is coal-seam gas directly under Woorabinda, so I watch with scepticism about the Governments future intentions.
Where did you go to School? My Mum was my first Teacher in Grade 1 with home schooling when we lived on a cattle property in South West Qld. I completed 2 to 4 in the local state primary school, then grades 5 to 10 in the state school system in Longreach. What does family mean to you? I’m the second oldest of 5 Brothers, and have 2 sons myself. The definition of Family continues to evolve, and my immediate and extended family are an important part of who I am as an individual. What did you enjoy doing away from work?
I enjoy keeping busy, even on week-ends, and this involves renovating houses, even though I don’t have a trade, I do as much as I can to mimimize costs. I also enjoy bush-camping, playing darts (non competition now) and table-tennis. What was the last movie you saw? A series of David Attenborough’s wildlife documentaries titled “Africa”, I find all wildlife doco’s very interesting, whether it’s the life of animals, plants or how the earth continues to evolve. What was the last book you read? Monsoon by Wilbur Smith, and currently re-reading one of his earlier books until such time as he releases a new one. I have most of his novels and find the way he writes and captures the reader’s attention is fascinating, especially the adventures and challenges that some of his characters get up to, and succeed against the odds.......... maybe there’s some link to my personal life journey, especially when people attempt to stereotype me, or say I can’t achieve something for me or our Mob? Why is a free daily First Nations Telegraph online Newspaper important? I think it’s important to get information in “real-time”, and the days of buying newspapers are very much on the decline. The demands for information in the current and future generations is very much about getting information as it happens, and to this end “First Nations Telegraph” is getting ahead of the game and
moving in the right direction. What do you hope for the future of our people? The opportunities for our Mob to be what they want to be. In my work role as National Indigenous Strategies Relationship Manager, I promote the “valueproposition” for our Mob to become qualified Accountants, and the benefits this can have for each individual, their immediate and extended families, their Communities and Nationally in “Closing the Gap” in a range of socio-economic disadvantage. Clearly getting a good education is very important, but I sometimes hear our younger generation say “what are you going to do for me”, and my normal response is “what are you willing to do for yourself, first”. I honestly believe that we need to move beyond the thinking that there will always be a safety net to support our Mob, whether we see this is a State/Territory or Federal Government. I advocate for and support the following quote: “The need for historical honesty is not a need to blame others for the present day realities”. This means that we don’t forget the intergenerational challenges our Elders and elected representatives continue to address, but collectively continue to work toward a better future for all Australians. Page 1