Esteemed photography educator Ralph Hattersley once famously said we “make photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”

On Friday the walls of the old St Marys Hall in Bowraville told a story of love, family, strength, connection, and achievment after generations of adversity, as the community celebrated the opening of a special NAIDOC week photographic exhibition.

For three months, Community Transport’s Kylie Cork has been capturing candid portraits of local Gumbaynggirr women.

“I just wanted to be part of recording this local community and their history,” she said.

“It’s been a real privilege for me to be going into their homes and their lives.

“And there’s been a really good response from the community, I think they’ve really embraced this year’s theme; ‘Because of Her, We Can!’.

“I think they’ve really liked seeing themselves in print – there’s a lot of pride, and they should be proud of everything they’ve achieved and where they’re headed.”

Amongst the 35 black and white portraits taken by Kylie, are around 40-50 historical images that community members contributed to the collection.

As you progress around the exhibition you step into the presence of women like Mardi Walker, a woman who was instrumental in revitalising the Gumbaynggirr language; Granny Flo Ballangarry, who provides a vital ancestral connection between members of the Bowraville mob; Aunty Sandra Buchanan who, together with Uncle Rod, was the first Indigenous woman to move off the mission – marking the beginning of the end of segregation; Aunty Elaine Walker, Bernadette Ballangarry, Clarice Allen, and Hilda Ballangarry, women whose tenacity helped buy back the land along the ‘travelling stockman’s route’ where the Aboriginal Family Education Centre (now the Bowraville Preschool) was built by the community in the 60s.

Uncle Martin Ballangarry talked animatedly to exhibition guests about this last image – taken by the legendary Mervyn Bishop – and the efforts these women went through to create a lasting legacy for their community.

While Michelle (Lulu) Jarrett pointed out a picture of Aunty Elaine Walker; a steadfast presence in the community, especially during the murder trials and the endless wait.

“She had a great influence on people’s lives – she was really wise and spiritual,” she said.

“When I go and fight for justice I feel her with me all the time.”

Ironically, many of the women who smile so magnetically from the black and white images around the hall were once banned from entering the very building which now heralds their visual narrative.

“We had to use a separate building closer to the mish, and the only time we were allowed in here was to empty the toilets for the white kids,” Michelle (Lulu) Jarrett said.

But she’s also proud of the exhibition and feels it is having a positive impact on the community.

“Things like this make the elders talk – it brings out the stories and the talk,” she said.

And she’s not the only one.

“I think it’s great to see it,” Penny Stadhams said.

“It represents the love, respect, connection to country and diversity in kinship groups in the Valley. There’s people up here from all over – Nambucca, Macksville and Bowraville.”

And while some of the elders struggle with accepting the new celebrations and ways of doing things, even they were happy to reminisce about the past.

“These things are not what my ancestors did, and I look to them. But it is nice to see the photos on the walls – it brings up a lot of memories,” Aunty Rita said.

NAIDOC netball tournament

NAIDOC march in Bowraville