"I was born at your McCarthur station in the Northern Territory. I don't know what my father looked like even his name, he passed when I was very small. John Kooraububba, he claimed me as his son, he was my fathers youngest brother. He grow me up, he was a grumpy old thing. My mother from here, Gununa. My father he was at Doomadgee when he meet my mother. Then they went to the territory for ceremony and corroboree, all the people from Bourketown went too. They walked no motorcar, they used to exercise every day, I've been walking through that country once as well.

I used to chase fish and go hunting when I was young. Take the fish back and feed all the old people. I used to go to corroboree, they called it Yonguloo. I worked when I was a young man, worked Cresswell Downs. I was ringing, then went to Booraloola then, Talbert station, I did ringing there too, rough country, too much hills, you go up and down up and down, like a rodeo. Then I went to Woolagran station. I stayed there, good manager and stockmen, they didn't want to let me go, I was there for nine and a half years. Then when the big race came to Bourketown we all went to the race.

Now I'm old man I start for painting at the art centre. I paint up all the time in ceremony. First time I paint like this, only in ceremony before this."

Billy Kooraubabba