We’ve always lived in the Blacktown area. We used to live on Sunnyholt Road and we all went to school at Blacktown North. I remember Prospect and Eastern Creek. I used to ride my bike from Sunnyholt Road and go to my aunty’s place to go swimming. We’d jump off rocks and swing on ropes into the river. We had a great time. Then they stopped the water from flowing, and the rubbish got dumped in it till they finally built over the top of it. It’s a little trickle now and that’s a crying shame, because it would have been a lovely thing to have in the area.

The Blacktown Native Institute site is on the corner of Rooty Hill and Richmond roads. The institute was set up by the early governors to train Aboriginal people to be white and keep control over them. My ancestors used to hand that land down for generation after generation. Then a fellow called Burdekin bought it when he was in government. He told the council that the land has to be given back to the Dharug people. But the paperwork got lost, and nobody knows where it is. I’d dearly love to see the government give it back to the Dharug people so we can build a culture centre for all Aboriginal people in the area.