Patricia Johnson

Patricia Johnson - recorded on 19 April / Wentworth Library, Buronga NSW.

Patricia Johnson is an elder of the Paakantji tribe and talks about the emotional day when Mungo Man was brought back to Mungo National Park in November 2017. Patricia speaks of her ancestors, her great-great grandparents Manfred Tommy and Mary Johnson, and the unacknowledged work and immense support looking after the community by her mother and step-father as Matron and care taker at the Murrin Bridge Mission where she grew up in Central NSW. She discusses her family, as one of 13 children, and her education, where she was the first Aboriginal student in her area to complete Year 10, and the school programs she has since created specifically for Indigenous children.
In the interview, Patricia also reads a story she wrote about her aunt Granny Rosie (33:00) - who was reputed as the best shot in Murrin Bridge, and would take Patricia on hunting trips when she was young. Patricia was given a special mention in the Indigenous Writer’s Award in 2016 in Mildura for this story. 

This interview was part of a collaboration between Louise Darmody and the State Library of New South Wales. The interviews were conducted by Louise Darmody, journalist, oral historian, producer, and founder of Sound Memories an oral history and documentary-making firm established in 2003.

These oral history recordings document the personal stories behind the Mungo Man historic repatriation process which took place on the 16-19th November 2017. After 43 years the Traditional Custodians brought Mungo Man and other internationally significant ancestral remains home to Mungo National Park within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage area in New South Wales.

The full catalogue record is online at http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110616131

Part of this interview has been transcribed and is available on Amplify at:
https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Patricia_Johnson_interview_1_20180419

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Patricia_Johnson_interview_2_20180419

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Patricia_Johnson_interview_3_20180419

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Patricia_Johnson_interview_3_20180419

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Patricia_Johnson_interview_4_20180419