“I was born on Bentinck Island on the south side called Karooi. My father was from Rarumbanda and my mother was from the Balumbanda of Bentinck Island called Grombali. I used to make dolls when I was young, from mud, play with my sisters. Big mob of young girls. We used to play catching one another, tiggy.

I was moved to Mornington Island to a dormitory. He was cruel, Mr McCathy. He would use the hose on us girls. Only when we got holidays did we get to go out camping. After dormitory life, I went with my parents to outside of Cloncurry to work on a sheep station. I worked in the house, washing and cleaning. Two years I worked on that station. Then I came back to Mornington Island and got married and had six children: three boys and three girls.

I went back to Bentinck after my kids had their schooling on Mornington Island and the mainland. I helped with land rights to get our country back. We have our own house there. We’re living there again. In my country I like fishing in the rivers for salmon and barramundi. We got a lot of fish on Bentinck Island. We make a lot of things from wallaby grass, like dilly bags and string, and shell beads.

Along the beach of my country are big white rocks. I paint them and I paint the little white shells that are up on the beach. We call them dingy shells. I want to be a good painter.

I have a lot of grandchildren. They make me happy. I take them for holidays on Bentinck when I go back after the wet season. When the air-strip is dry we can go home. Back to my home.

We just started learning painting. I seen my aunty Sally start painting. She makes good paintings. I want to be a good painter too. I like doing painting for myself and with those three sisters of mine: Netta, Amy and Ethel and with my aunty Sally and May May, her sister.”

~ Paula Paul