Survivors of the Stolen Generations shared their experiences at the District's National Sorry Day commemoration.

Uncle Bobby Young, a proud Kamilaroi man, says he knows only one word in his language, the word “Yaama", which translates as “hello”. 

“I'm going on to 75 years of age, still catching up in my culture,” said Uncle Bobby, a member of the Stolen Generations and survivor of the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home. 

Uncle Bobby joined another survivor of the home, Uncle Terry Grimes and Terry’s son Chris to share their experiences of survival with District staff and community members at the District’s recent National Sorry Day commemoration hosted by Sydney Dental Hospital.

The presentation was part of a Truth Telling Session run by the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation to improve understanding of the experiences of survivors and the ongoing impacts of the Stolen Generations. 

The Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home was run by the NSW Government from 1924-1970 to house boys forcibly removed from their families and assimilate them into white society. 

The District’s Deputy Director of Aboriginal Health, Ricky Lyons, said it was important to hear directly from Stolen Generations survivors.

“It's about telling the truth and accepting it and ensuring that we don't go through this process ever again in the life of Australia.” he said. 

“It's truth-telling, it's how it happened.” 

District Chief Executive Graeme Loy said hearing from Stolen Generations survivors was a step towards reconciliation. 

“Days like today and listening to the Uncles today is a really good way to start that process,” he said. 

“Thank you for coming down and joining us and opening up your hearts and your minds to everyone that's in the room.” 

Uncle Bobby told those gathered he was stolen from his family when he was only five. He had been with his older sister leaving school and was going to see his grandparents when the children were picked up by the police. He was later put in a cell and then taken via Sydney to the Kinchela Boys Home. 

“I, too, was told that my mum and dad were dead … even though my mum and dad were working in Quirindi Hospital as cleaners,” he said. 

Uncle Terry said he was nine when he and his three siblings were stolen from their family, put in a paddy wagon, separated and then he was taken to the Kinchela Boys Home. 

“Didn't even tell my mum, grandparents, grandfather, nobody,” Uncle Terry said. 

“Just put us in the back of the paddy wagon, took off the four of us.” 

Uncle Terry said the traumas of growing up in the Kinchela Boys Home – which involved isolation, neglect and physical and verbal abuse – took a heavy toll on him. 

He said it is only recently that he’s been able to heal and is reconnecting with his Aboriginal family. 

“I'm a grandfather now. And I hope all that stops with me, and that will never, ever happen again in the system,” Uncle Terry said. 

“I know for sure this younger generation that are going to take us forward will not let this happen again.” 

In 2022, the NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce made a formal apology to acknowledge the many Aboriginal children who were admitted to hospitals across the state and never returned to their families and communities. 

The apology is displayed in services and facilities throughout Sydney Local Health District.