I was told we spoke Spanish: Frances Bodkin

As descendants of Mary Perry, Auntie Frances Bodkin’s family believed that “the safest place to hide is amongst those who are looking for you”. Her mother spoke Dharawal language at home, but she was always told it was Spanish. When she opened a box of papers her mother had left her they turned out to all be written in Dharawal and she now uses them to teach.

Keywords: Identity; childhood; racism; values; heritage