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She is an Aboriginal elder of the stolen generation; This is a white man of middle age with Celtic roots.
Aunt Lillian Burke and Sean Connelly, co-chairs of NAIDOC's Gympie Committee, prepare for a few weeks of celebrations and cultural celebrations.
It takes energy, determination and a good dose of humor when volunteers are hard to find and rooted social prejudices are at stake.
Sean remembers the time when he and Aunt Lillian were followed by police while they were driving to a meeting, apparently because they seemed suspicious. He felt obliged to point out the irony.
"They were following an Australian of the year and the winner of a lifetime volunteer award in Queensland, so how could we look dubious? You can google us!
When Sean met Aunt Lillian 15 years ago, their friendship took the time to warm up.
Sean describes Aunty Lillian in plain language; she calls herself mouthy.
"Originally, I did not know how to approach Auntie but the more time I spent with her, the more I felt that her story needed to be told," he says.
Aunty Lillian, 69, is a Butchulla woman with a Kabi Kabi connection, who discovered her true aboriginal heritage in 2004.
Her life in Cherbourg was broken when, at the age of 10 she was taken from her chick, walked to an aboriginal settlement run by the state, and forced to live in the girls' dormitory.
"We were only allowed to visit our family for six hours once a month, if we were good" Aunt Lillian.
"We were mentally, physically and verbally abused day by day.
" There was no one to feed us, we fed each other, even now we are still known in the community aborigine under the name of "domo girls"
"Living in this place, you were no one.For years, I felt like I was no one."
His only merry Remembrance was to be part of the Cherbourg women's team that participated in the national championships in 1962.
Discovering Her Secret Ancestry
Aunty Lillian's desire to promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture by discovering her long-buried ancestry.
At the age of 52, with four sons, she graduated in community services.
After staying away from an unhappy marriage she dedicated his time to young people to find work, safety and self-esteem.
She has been the aboriginal advisor to dozens of NGO and government boards and organizations, including the Fraser Island World Heritage area. Indigenous Advisory Committee
The return of the island in 2014 to its traditional owners of Butchulla, and Aunt Lillian's contribution to obtaining her Landcare Management Award was, she said, "the More Sean challenged Aunt Lillian to tell her story more broadly over a decade.
"She has this unique insight, this experience lived, but not once did I ever hear her say" poor "
"" It came to her at a high personal cost and I can see how exhausted and exhausted she is emotionally after she's done it, but these stories are dying and people need to to hear them.
"There are so few opportunities for people to understand the dark part of our story and to hear from someone who was there, it's humiliating."
'I am the office of the march & # 39; a life that knows about racism, abuse and ignorance to make it suspicious and unable to let people get closer.
But she has a soft spot for Sean, who is a program manager with the NGO United Synergies and often with her on the front lines of community work.
"Sean sticks to me, he is true to his word," she says.
This year's NAIDOC activities at Gympie include a flag raising ceremony, a family fun day and a dance party – all organized by Aunty Lillian and Sean, as they have done for years.
"We do not have an office," says Aunt Lillian, "I'm the office, the office of the march."
But it's not always easy.
" We argue like cats and dogs on the last day of the event, then we do not talk for a month. "Says Sean." Then, Auntie says we do it again, and we do it. "
" One would think that I would be attracted to uncles "
The NAIDOC theme of 2018 is Because we can. [19659002"Lafemmeestl"epinedorsaledetout"saysAuntieLillian"WeclassonsollaterrecommenotreourMothertowardswetenswasworntowardsmymother"
"J & # I've worked in many communities, "Sean says." It's the women who are the glue. "
" It looks like as a guy growing up in Australia I would be attracted to Uncles, but there is a unique quality of strength and humility that I see at A unty Lillian, after the trauma that she has lived. the theme is everything for me. "
Watch the ABC Women's Work Series every Sunday on the weekend breakfast at 8:45 or catch up on iView." Join the discussion on ABC's Facebook group of women & # 39; Work
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