Tony Liddle facts for kids
Anthony "Tony" Liddle (born in 1940) is a truck driver and tour guide who has helped shape the history of Central Australia. He is known for his hard work and for sharing important stories about Aboriginal people's involvement in the region.
Early Life in Central Australia
Tony Liddle was born in 1940 at Hatches Creek, a place in the Davenport Ranges that was his mother's traditional country. His parents were Milton and Polly (Ngwarie) Liddle.
When Tony was just a toddler in 1942, his family moved to Alice Springs. However, they often went back to visit their family's cattle station, Angas Downs Station, which is now called the Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area.
Because Tony's family was Aboriginal, they faced difficult rules from the government. To keep their children safe and close, his parents had to make the hard choice for Tony and his siblings to live away from home. From 1951 to 1956, Tony lived at St. Mary's Hostel, a place for Aboriginal children. During the day, he attended Hartley Street School.
Tony has shared that he was luckier than some other children at the hostel. He was able to visit his family during school holidays, which was not always possible for others.
Working Hard
After finishing school in 1956, Tony Liddle spent a year working with cattle at Alcoota Station. He then got his truck driver's licence using his father's Morris Commercial truck.
In 1958, Tony started working with his father and brothers, Bob and Mick, in their small business. They cut and carried wood. Their business grew quickly, and soon they were delivering food, supplies, and fuel to many remote communities and government settlements across the region. Tony remembers delivering water to the famous Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira.
Later, Tony left his family's business to work for Rosewall Construction. He helped to make the airstrip at the local hospital longer.
In late 1960, Tony began working for Len Tuit. He became a tour guide, taking people from Alice Springs to beautiful places like Palm Valley. He also drove tours to Serpentine Lodge, a tourist spot started by Len Tuit. Tony was a very popular guide because of his friendly personality and his dedication to his job.
Tony stopped driving tours in 1992. He then worked for Ingkerreke, a service that helped remote communities, for 13 years. He drove vehicles and operated machinery until he retired in 2005 at the age of 65.
Sharing His Story
Since retiring, Tony Liddle has been sharing his life story. He talks about growing up in a well-known Aboriginal family in Central Australia. He wants to show how much Aboriginal people have been involved in all kinds of work in the area, especially in the cattle industry, where his family had worked since the early 1900s.
Tony often speaks about the challenges Aboriginal people faced. He explains that many Aboriginal people worked very hard in the cattle industry. He believes that if people had received better education, the town would be a much better place today.
In 2014, Tony Liddle was honored. He was added to the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame ReUnion. This award recognized his long and important career as a truck driver.
