Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

never got kicked out because she needed him to look after us basically.Twelve, thirteen was the age at when she decided like we’re uncontrollable, we’ve gotthis wrong with us, we’ve got that wrong with us, we’ve got diseases, we’re ill all thetime, we’ve got mental problems, we’ve got this, we’ve got that. She used to say that tous, that we had all these things wrong with us.Murray was the first to go. When he turned 13 he got booted out because she made outthat he had this wrong with him again. He stole things, he did this, he did that. He wentto an institution. So seeing that we’re Indigenous we all had the double effect: one wasadoption and one was institutionalisation.They took Murray. He went to [a Queensland boys’ home]. Murray got caught up in theprison scene because he started stealing and whatever. He was angry. He was in theHome for two years. He got involved in a few stealings and he had to go to Westbrookinstitution which is a lock-up.There’s a difference between care and protection and care and control. Where Murrayfirst went into care and protection and then he had to go into care and control.After that the next person to go wasn’t me. I wasn’t quite 12, 13, the uncontrollable age.Ivan, who was the one aged below me, wasn’t adopted properly. He was sort of fosteredin a way. There was a legal technicality there. So because he wasn’t adopted properly,another family took him over and he’s still with them today [now an adult].So I didn’t realise my time was coming, but basically when I hit the ages of 12 and 13 Iwas next to go. She met this new fellow. She wouldn’t marry him until I was out of thescene. She basically said, ‘Oh Graham is uncontrollable’. So she got rid of me as bestway she could without her feeling that she was doing wrong.Confidential evidence 441, New South Wales: Graham was placed in short term respite care buthis adoptive mother did not retrieve him. The court stepped in and an order for care andprotection was made in 1985. He was placed in the same boys’ home as his brother Murray. Hewas 13 years old. He remained in the Home until he turned 18. Having failed almost everysubject in secondary school, Graham is now about to complete a university degree.