I was born at Valley Station near Normanton on the mainland in the Gulf. My father was Yangaal and my mother Waanyi. He came from Forsythe Island one of the South Wellesley Islands.

I was just a small baby 1 year old when I came to Mornington Island. I grew up here and went to school and stayed in the dormitory. When I was a teenager I went to work on Boomarra Station near Cloncurry. I worked there for a couple of years and on a couple of other stations nearby.

I came back to Mornington Is and worked in the gardens until I got married just after the second world war to Douglas Burke. He was Yangaal like my dad from Forsythe Island.
We had 6 children and now I have too many grandchildren to count. I used to go back to my homeland on Forythe is as much as I could but It is a bit hard now as I am old and weak.

I’ve never painted before and only started a couple of weeks ago.I used to weave grass string,make dance hats and make shell necklaces but my eyesight and hands are not what they used to be and it was getting to hard to keep making handcraft so I made up my mind I was going to try painting.

I enjoy painting and I paint the old stories belonging to my country on Forsythe Island. It makes me feel good to finish the painting and tell the story that I have painted.

~ Thelma Burke