Winnie Quagliotti facts for kids
Winnifred Evelyn Quagliotti (born Winnifred Terrick, also known as Auntie Winnie and by her traditional name Narrandjeri; 1931 – 4 August 1988) was an important leader for the Wurundjeri people. The Wurundjeri are an Aboriginal Australian group from the Kulin Nation in what is now Victoria. Auntie Winnie was the great-great-niece of the famous Aboriginal leader William Barak.
Early Life
Winnifred Quagliotti was born in 1931. Her birthplace was near the Murray River, between Koondrook, Victoria, and Barham, New South Wales. Her father, William Terrick, worked as a truck driver and a shearer. Her mother, Jessie Wandin, grew up at Coranderrk, an Aboriginal reserve. This reserve was near Healesville. Later, her parents moved to the Lake Tyers Mission.
Auntie Winnie was one of ten children. She spent her childhood in the Healesville area and in Collingwood, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. She married Paul Quagliotti, who came from Trieste, Italy. She had two children of her own and also fostered other children.
Community Work
In 1968, Auntie Winnie and her husband moved to Doveton, Victoria. This area is part of Dandenong. She felt her children were old enough, so she started working for the Aboriginal community.
In 1970, she helped create an organisation. She worked with her brother Johnny Terrick and Walda Blow. This group later became the Dandenong & District Aborigines Co-operative Ltd in 1975. Auntie Winnie was the first chairperson of this group for 13 years, until she passed away.
She also led a housing co-operative. This group helped Aboriginal people get loans to buy homes. She was also a founding member of the Aboriginal Housing Board of Victoria. She was the chairperson of this board in 1987–1988.
In 1987, she received the title deeds for the main office of the Aboriginal Housing Board. This was a very important moment. It was the first time an Aboriginal organisation had owned property in Victoria since 1835. That year, Auntie Winnie's great-great-uncle, William Barak, had seen Wurundjeri elders sign Batman's Treaty. This treaty was about selling their land to a white man.
Auntie Winnie worked at two Aboriginal Hostels Limited places. She was a cook, cleaner, and manager. She also helped set up the Burrai Child Care Centre. This centre also gave support to families. She helped create an Aboriginal Family Aid Support Unit too.
She was also part of the council for Worawa Aboriginal College. This is a secondary school for Aboriginal students in Healesville. She even served as its vice-president. Auntie Winnie was also involved with Camp Jungai, a camp for Aboriginal children near Eildon, Victoria. She was a member and chair of its board. She once said, "I'm so proud to look at the little kids I nursed and see them in Aboriginal politics."
A Powerful Protest
Auntie Winnie is also remembered for a powerful protest. This happened during the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. The Bicentenary celebrated 200 years since Europeans arrived in Australia. For many Aboriginal people, this was a time of sadness, not celebration.
During the event, many large sailing ships, called tall ships, were in Melbourne. Auntie Winnie wore a special possum-skin cloak. It had emu feathers around the neck. She also had ash smeared on her face. This was a sign of mourning, showing her sadness. She threw a wreath of wattle flowers into the water at Princes Pier. This was her way of protesting and showing respect for her ancestors.
Her Final Years
In August 1988, Auntie Winnie met with Gerry Hand. He was the federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. They talked about Aboriginal land issues in Victoria. This included who owned the Coranderrk Cemetery in Healesville, Victoria.
Soon after this meeting, she suffered a brain bleed and passed away in Heidelberg, Victoria. She was buried a few metres outside the Coranderrk Cemetery. Her family wanted her to be buried inside the cemetery. But the cemetery committee said no. They worried it might disturb the old graves.
As a compromise, they suggested making the cemetery bigger to include her grave. A nearby road was even blocked for this plan. But six months after her burial, the road block was removed. It was then reportedly dumped on Auntie Winnie's grave. The ownership of the Coranderrk Cemetery was finally given to the Wurundjeri people in September 1991.
On Auntie Winnie's headstone, these words are written: "You know that I have some beautiful dreams. I urge you to start work on them as soon as possible. Pull yourselves together, stick together and get the job done."
Recognition
After her death, several places in Victoria were named to honour Auntie Winnie. The Burrai Child Care Centre was renamed after her. Narrandjeri House, the main office for Aboriginal Housing Victoria, is also named in her honour. A conference room at Camp Jungai is called "Aunty Winnie's meeting place." In 2010, a street in Bonner, a suburb of Canberra, was named "Quagliotti Street" after her.
