Avis Gale is a recovering angry woman.
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A member of the Stolen Generation, she was taken from her mother in Ceduna, South Australia, when she was seven days old.
What followed was years of hardship growing up in a mission in Adelaide.
She would rebel and burn bibles in contempt of her tormentors, the missionaries.
They would pin her down and forcefully tattoo her left ankle with the tip of an ink pen the letter “H” as they told her she was going to hell.
Later in life Ms Gale would self-harm, start fights and be thrown into lock-ups.
She found work with a job at an Adelaide hostel for 18 years, met her sister for the first time and learnt how to paint.
The years went by and Ms Gale still harboured a deep resentment for the horrors which had plagued her.
But on February 13, 2008, things changed for Ms Gale forever with the utterance of two words.
“The words I'm sorry that were spoken by the then Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd,” Ms Gale told The Border Mail.
“For me, personally, it swept through the cupboards of my life and moved the healing process along.
“In my lifetime, as what had happened to me, hardened my emotions not to expect something like what Mr Rudd did. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still a surprise.”
Eight years on and Ms Gale has told her story many times in schools, on stage and through books.
She was La Trobe University’s NAIDOC Awards Elder of the Year in 2013 and has won many other awards.
Another medium the Pitjantjara Kokatha woman uses to continue telling the story of the apology is paint.
“I started to tell my story though my art, each mark I make, whether on canvas or wood or other material, represents a part of my story which in turn reveals a bigger picture of me through my words,” Ms Gale said.
Ms Gale is working on a book to keep the Stolen Generation’s story alive.
She is also a member of Albury group True Australian Aboriginal Survivors.
An exhibition of the group’s Stolen Generation themed artwork will be opened on Saturday at the Albury LibraryMuseum from 10am to midday.
In my lifetime, as what had happened to me, hardened my emotions not to expect something like what Mr Rudd did
- Avis Gale