Honouring truth: Girls’ Dormitory Exhibition – One Hundred Years On

More than 150 people gathered in Cherbourg on Wakka Wakka Country for the launch of the Girls’ Dormitory Exhibition: One Hundred Years On. The powerful event at the Ration Shed Museum brought the community together to honour Stolen Generations survivors of the dormitory system and ensure their stories are carried forward for future generations.

The exhibition features rare photographs, personal testimonies, letters, and historical records that reveal what life was like for the young girls who lived under strict government control. Archival images show dormitory routines — the regimented daily schedules and the stark separation from family and culture.

Voices of survival and strength

At 96 years of age, Aunty Ruth Hegarty reminded the community of the lasting pain of separation: 

“At four and a half years I was taken from my mother and placed in the little girls’ ward… The girls of the dormitory were trained for one purpose. That was to work as cheap labour. At 14, we were sent to cattle stations.  It was frightening… because you had no one to hug you at night.” 

She also stressed why truth-telling remains vital: 

“Without exhibitions such as this, our history and our stories risk being erased.”

Aunty Jo Willmott spoke about the harsh conditions inside the dormitory.

“The dormitory was a complex place for all of us — the pain, the trauma, the agony, the distress, the dehumanising. It didn’t matter what age you were; you got up at 5 o’clock every morning and you did all your work before you went to school.”

She also described the deep disconnection created by forced separation:

“I had no idea until I was nine that I had two brothers. How do you live in a small community and not know who you belong to? That was one way of absolute control. And you feeling totally alone and isolated.”

Aunty Andrea Collins honoured the story of her mother, Eva Collins, who was taken at just nine years old:

“She was taken out of a group on an excursion and brought here. She didn’t know anybody. Can you imagine a child that age being put in the dormitory here, knowing nobody? … All that time, she felt that her mother abandoned her.  And I had to tell her, over and over again, she was not abandoned — she was taken. She was removed without her mother’s knowledge.”

Aunty Andrea closed her speech with a heartfelt song, Go and Rest High on the Mountain, reworked to honour her mother’s life.

Strength and culture on display

After a Welcome to Country by Shane Dynevor, Cherbourg Mayor Bruce Simpson stated:

“I see all the deadly matriarchs in the room. We all stood up and said, no, you don’t determine our truth, we do… from our council, we are advocating even now, today, to continue our truth-telling.”

Councillor Carla Fisher shared a powerful poem, When Will It Stop, echoing the scars of history and the strength of culture:

“When will it stop? When will it change? 
Tired of living as strangers in a place that knows our name. 
We’re just trying to survive, carry what’s been planned. 
The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land.”

Healing through truth-telling

The event showed the importance of truth-telling in healing for Stolen Generations survivors, descendants and communities. The exhibition now stands as a permanent reminder of the struggles and survival of the girls’ dormitory, and a call to ensure these stories are never forgotten.

The exhibition is a powerful example of why truth-telling matters. Survivors and their families carry stories of pain, resilience, and survival that continue to impact younger generations. By listening to their voices, we honour their strength and move together toward healing.

For more information visit: 

https://rationshed.com.au/