Dorothy Murray remembers her time on Cape Barren Island fondly. She was born there and lived there with her grandparents until she was 17.
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Freedom was the word Dorothy used to describe her time of the island. Freedom from discrimination and freedom to enjoy her childhood.
Dorothy's family were self sufficient while they lived on the island. They would catch and grow everything they needed to survive.
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"I used to love to go out fishing ... going round the beaches collecting shells with my grandmother. Learning to do the shells and of course being the kids we had to go and collect the food, the little bits and the muttonfish," she said.
At the age of 17 Dorothy was forced to leave Cape Barren after the death of her grandfather. Her grandmother didn't take the death very well and was taken to Flinders Island before being moved to Hobart.
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"I stayed [on Cape Barren] for a while with my uncle and my cousin Ronnie Summers, who passed away a few weeks ago," Dorothy said.
"From there I went over to Flinders and worked for a while and then went over to Launceston and met my husband."
Dorothy and her husband then moved to Victoria, where they lived for 23 years, and travelled around Australia. They had five children together before they moved back to Cape Barren.
"I always wanted to go back so I went back and built myself a log cabin," Dorothy said.
"My eldest son died [and] my young daughter died, so I have only got the son and the daughter in Melbourne now. But I've got three beautiful grandchildren."
After moving back to Launceston from Cape Barren Dorothy became one of the founding members of the Tasmanian Elders Council alongside Brian Mansell and Joan Brown, from Cape Barren.
Along with her role at the Elders Council Dorothy was also part of a band called The Island Coves. Dorothy's love of music stemmed from her time on Cape Barren where she and her family would sing and celebrate regularly.
Five years after starting up the council Dorothy was recognised by then Prime Minister John Howard, for her contribution to Tasmania's Aboriginal Community.
Dorothy said elders played an important role in shaping her life. "They were around me all the time, my grandmother had six sisters so there was always someone around," she said.
"If you wanted to know something you'd sit there and talk to them and ask them and they'd tell you how to go or not to go or make your own mind up. They'd advise you."
"I would go out to a hotel with my brothers, there was never any difference. I would go to a shop to buy something and they would never serve non-Aboriginal people first," she said.
Recognising the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII:
"That never took place in my time. But apparently it happens all around you now. I don't know why."
She said one of the biggest challenges facing Tasmania's Aboriginal community was that young people didn't want to learn about their culture.
"You can talk to them and they'll look at you and shake their head and walk out the door," Dorothy said. "They have got their minds set on what they think and that is how it is going to be."
Dorothy said constitutional recognition for Indigenous people would help to create a better understanding of Aboriginal people throughout the community.
"Why is someone so different from the other? Because after all we are all the same we are all going to go to the same place," she said.
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