'Grieving Mother' statue for the Stolen Generation

A moving and poignant ceremony in Eden Hills marked the unveiling of the second stage of the Colebrook memorial for the Stolen Generation amid the mournful strains of "Brown Skin Baby" sung by Val Power.

Former residents of the Colebrook Training Home, their families and other members of the Kaurna people, surrounded the bronze-on-granite statue, titled the 'Grieving Mother', wiping tears from their eyes and embracing each other--their grief strong despite the passing of time. The statue has continued to be at the centre of annual memorial events at the site.

Sculpted by Silvio Apponyi with the help of Kaurna artist Shereen Rankine, the statue represents the loss and grief felt by the Aboriginal mothers whose children were forcibly removed from their care under the policy of the day. The children were delivered to institution-style homes, such as Colebrook, and most never saw their mothers or families again.

Former resident, Muriel Olsson, spoke at the original unveiling: "Today is the day to honour our mothers". Those cruelly stripped of the chance to raise their children and to play an integral part in their lives and the enhancement of their culture. "We will never understand their grief."

"Only as we choose to forgive can we be truly healed," she said.

Former resident, Dr. Lowitja O'Donoghue, said that awareness and a true understanding of the Aboriginal people was being revealed through the efforts of reconciliation. "We must speak to the humanity of all Australians," she said.

The Eden Hills Colebrook Training Home operated as such from 1943 to 1972, and was home to some 350 Aboriginal children.

The home had its origins in Oodnadatta in 1924 when a member of the United Aboriginal Mission, Annie Lock, took in a girl named Rita.

In 1926, Mr T.E. Colebrook, as Australian President of the United Aboriginal Mission, bought a house in Oodnadatta for the care of Aboriginal children.

The home was officially named Colebrook Home in 1927, after relocation to a small, rented cottage in Quorn. The next move was to a large country homestead in Eden Hills in 1943, where it was renamed Colebrook Training Home. The homestead has since been demolished but the land remains a memorial to the Lost Generation.

The number of Aboriginal children cared for at the Home, was significantly reduced in 1973 when the Department of Community Welfare took over the responsibility of care.

Colebrook Home was relocated to smaller premises in Blackwood until its closure by the government on January 31, 1981.

The first stage of the memorial had been unveiled a year before that of the 'Grieving Mother' and is titled 'Fountain of Tears'.