SI Cambridge Meets Ms Tjupamtarri Daisy – July 2011

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On the coldest night of the year Cambridge SI were honoured to have Ms Tjupamtarri Daisy Ward as a guest at our July meeting, and she warmed our hearts.

About 20 women, some from Fremantle SI as well, gathered at the home of Maxine Kaemf to hear Dasy’s story.

We were all taken by Daisy’s passion and desire to help her people. She had traveled to Kalgoorlie and Perth to give a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing of the State of WA in the death of Mr Ward. Daisy is Mr Ward’s cousin and birth family spokesperson.

The Deaths in Custody Watch Committee (WA) Inc and the birth family are calling on Government to make available all penalties imposed on any of the parties to be paid to the birth family of Mr Ward to establish a legacy to Mr Ward’s life and works. They want to establish an Environment & Service Centre.

Daisy Tjupamtarri is a leader in her community of Murrku – near the Giles Weather Station. She is a mother, grandmother and an upholder of the Law and is well versed in Womens’ Law songs, dances and ceremonies. She is an artist and a story-teller.

Daisy outlined to us how she educated the young women by taking them ‘out bush’ to instil their customs and skills. Unfortunately the utility that they have been using has broken down – so this avenue of education has been halted.

She also informed us that because of Mr Ward’s death, a lot of people had left the community (which is custom) and that the school has been closed because at one time there were not enough students to keep the school open.

Now, a lot of those people have returned to Murrku, but the school has not been re-opened – the kids only have Distant Education which is not as efficient as conventional school.

For a woman who has campaigned against domestic violence, unregulated alcohol sales and substance abuse, she is very frustrated by the situation in her community. She recently headed the campaign against the sale of leaded fuels in Central Australia and the roll-out of lead free “opal” fuel from the Goldfields, WA, to Alice Springs.

The group of Soroptimist women present are very keen to assist Daisy in her campaign for human rights and justice for her cousin, Mr Ward.

We felt privileged to have Daisy tell her story.