Agnes Abbott Hard worker

Streaming video - 2014

Agnes Abbott was born at Loves Creek Station in the 1930s. She lived in the bush with her Eastern Arrernte family, travelling across the parts of her homeland which are still accessible to the old people. From her early years born and raised in the bush, learning the survival tools and the ways of their culture, Agnes' life underwent many and expansive changes. More of her homelands became inaccessible to families for hunting, and finding new ways to live on or near the stations and the missions became imperative. Eventually, Agnes remained as a station worker. This film takes us back to Agnes country, where using her stories, arts and culture Agnes endeavours to teach us about parts of her extraordinary homeland, her complex connect...ions to it which have sustained her through the challenges of recent European colonisation, and her choices for survival. Agnes made this film as a way of sharing her knowledge with younger generations and to people from outside her culture. The preservation and maintenance of Eastern Arrernte culture is undergoing changes too, and with the contemporary option of using multimedia, film, painting, audio and photography Agnes is always transforming her ancient knowledge into contemporary formats so that it will not all be lost. more