Pearl (Johnson) Ferguson was born in Broken Hill on the 18th of May 1940. Her early years were spent with her family in Wilcannia and her eyes danced as our yarns turned to memories from days gone by but obviously never forgotten.
Pearl didn’t speak too much about her early years but did share stories about her time on Bindarra station and later Tandou station where her husband Desmond was manager. Pearl is the proud mother of three children, Keith, her son, lives in Broken Hill and works for the Western Institute of TAFE. Noelene, Pearl’s only daughter, lives in Menindee and works at the Local Aboriginal Land Council and her youngest son Robert is deceased.
Pearl said that she enjoyed the life on the stations but with the arrival of children there was the need for schooling. The wife of one of the station owners, Mrs Packer, taught the children for a while until they moved to Menindee.
The family moved into Menindee in the 1970s and sometime around 1976 Pearl became a Director of the now defunct Nyampa Housing Company but decided to step down from the position after a couple of years. Pearl smiles as she recalls the trips she made to Sydney with other Nyampa Directors and the times when there was more laughter and unity in the community.
When asked about what she thought was good about living in Menindee, Pearl shared that it was great to live in a place where there are no strangers, only people who hadn’t yet met.
Family is important to Pearl and it is obvious that her quiet but firm hand was a major factor in guiding her children to a good level of education. Sadness descends across Pearl’s face as she speaks of the loss of her youngest son Robert who, before his passing, worked with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Pearl remembers vividly the phone call that told of Robert’s passing in Sydney and even though she had been told what happened she believes that some things are left unknown. The pain of losing a child is never easy for a parent and even though the passage of time makes the pain more bearable a great feeling of loss is ever-present.
Pearl worked in a range of jobs including on the grapes and fruit picking to support her family, but she fondly remembers the times that she worked in the school’s canteen. Pearl worries that men are not more involved in community—based organisations and in other ways in the community but she understands how Aboriginal men struggle to understand their roles in modern society.
Pearl has five granddaughters, three great-grandsons and two great-granddaughters and it is obvious from the members of the extended family who are present during our yarn that she is loved and adored for the role that she plays in their lives. To members of her family Pearl is an unsung hero because she quietly seeks change without the loss of dignity and respect. Like many others in Aboriginal society Pearl is concerned about the loss of culture and the lack of respect shown to Elders and to others by some of the younger generation.
The presence of drugs in the community and the ever-increasing abuse of alcohol are also of concern to Pearl and she would like kids to know more about their culture and history.
