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 Rosie Harrigan Rosie hails from Hopevale, her
father, Roy, a skilled carpenter, belongs to the Dhuubi Warra clan.
Rosie's mother, May, who belongs to the Dharrpa Clan, along with
her other household jobs used to earn spare money for the family by
weaving sisal mats and making "flowers" from brightly coloured
parrot feathers that her husband gathered for her. Sadly, May died
from heart trouble when Rosie was only 12 years old. When Rosie was 15, she was
sent away by the Lutheran Church to live with foster parents in
Nambour as her father had to be away to build houses in Wujal Wujal
at the time. Rosie was cared for by Clarence and Daphne Brook.Rosie remembers, "They had five boys. I was older than them. We used to milk the cows for our own milk, make butter, collect eggs, feed and water the chooks, do the veggie patch. We all used to go out planting and stripping cane. We used to love doing this on Saturdays". She talks fondly of her foster mother, "She taught me how to iron the clothes, how to hang the washing out. I never had a mother figure to show me all that. She taught me a lot of things… today I'm really grateful. She wasn't really strict but she was a mother figure. What I learnt from her, it's been passed on to my boys too. These days I still ring her up and she still calls me her daughter". Rosie lived with the Brooks for nearly three years after which she went back home to Hope Vale.  When Rosie was 20 she met
Ronnie and fell in love. He was 21. Rosie has a little giggle every
time she is asked about meeting Ronnie. It seems he found many
reasons to come to Hope Vale and visit Rosie. Rosie says she used
to come down to Cooktown sometimes to make it easier. In May 19,
1972, Ronnie and Rosie were married in the Hopevale Lutheran
Church, a building that her father Roy built.Nowadays it is clear that Rosie's firm support and hard work as a wife and mother provides the backbone for her sons' determination and work ethics. Both she and Ronnie set the rules and carried out the discipline for the whole household.  She developed the routine
for the kids. She says, "I never had a problem with them going to
school. They get up in the morning, I had their stuff ready from
the night before, their schoolbags were ready, and I had their
lunch bags packed. Clothes are ironed, breakfast is one the table
and off they go".About having very young kids and supporting Ronnie's band, Rosie says, "Even when Ronnie had his own band, I took the kids out only if it was an open place or maybe at some people's places. At times, I used keep them home and let them watch a movie. They'd take their turn to pick at the video shop. But even before videos they used to have books and they'd read them".  When the boys were very young and
travelling with their dad's band, Rosie used to set up little beds
in a quieter corner so that the kids could get to sleep at a decent
time.When asked about being an Aboriginal woman, Rosie says, "You have to be strong." She is the band's proudest and biggest supporter and will travel all over to listen and watch her boys and help them out. |
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