Warning: This story may contain images of Indigenous people who have passed away. This story mentions sexual assault, which may be upsetting to some readers.

For David Wragge, going to the nursery’s outdoor toilet at night was always a risky proposition.

He was separated from his parents at the age of nine. There is a terrifying reason why he did not dare to make the journey alone. He always woke up his brother, who accompanied him.

“Adults shouldn’t live in children’s homes because bad things happen there.”

The elder Wakka Wakka, who has links with the Ghungalu, Juru, Bindal and Wulgurukba gangs, spent six years in the Cherbourg Boy’s Dormitory, west of Brisbane, after his parents split up.

Unlike the girls’ dormitory, the boys’ house was not locked at night, and adult men working in the area slept in the same building.

“We could have allowed people to come into our buildings of their own free will — and we did,” he said.

Mr Wragge, now 66, also remembers the harsh punishments he and others received for minor offences, such as not eating the food on their plates.

“We were beaten and whipped, sometimes beaten, sometimes whipped – it was an everyday occurrence, some boys suffered more than others,” he said.

Mr Wragge said his father had been sent away to work and would need permission to visit his children in their dormitory when he returned home every few months.

“My father tried to come and see us, but he couldn’t see us without permission. Our fence line was our boundary.”

“People are coming out of this in shock”

Mr Wragge credits his loving wife and family with helping him cope with the trauma, but admits that not every person who experienced The Stolen Generations was so lucky.

“Six years in a boys’ home, 100 boys in total in that time — 30 percent of those men died young, ended up in prison, drugs, alcohol, you know, things that happened when they were kids,” he said.

Grandpa has dedicated his life to telling the truth and is among those who gave testimony at the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry conference in Brisbane this week.

The hearings are part of the state government’s Path to Treaty Act, which passed the Legislature with bipartisan support in 2023 and is set to last three years.

Mr Wragge hopes this will help all Queenslanders better understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history.

“The real story of the Queensland people is the story of these missions and reserves and the displacement of people from their lands and culture,” he said.

Sent to work as a child

Ruth Hegarty, now 95, still remembers vividly what it was like as a child on the government-run Barambah Aboriginal Mission, now known as Cherbourg.

Her mother moved there when Aunt Ruth was only six months old, promising her that she and her baby would be “taken care of.”

But at the age of four, Aunt Ruth was removed from her mother’s care and forced to live in a girls’ dormitory, where they were often separated only by trelliswork or dining tables.

She recalls coming home after the first day of school and calling her mother to tell her what had happened.

“One of the women came out and said to me, ‘You’re a big girl now, you’re not allowed to be here, you’re not allowed to be on this side,'” she said.

“I thought, ‘Big girl’? I was just a kid.”

About 12 months later, her mother was sent to work as a servant for white farming families in remote areas and had no choice but to go.

The Gunggari woman completed some years of education in Cherbourg but was sent to work when she was only 14.

Before she left, she was warned about the dangers of being an impressionable young girl.

“One of the older ladies told me, ‘Now they will try to get into your room, so every night push the wardrobe or the dressing table against the door, that’s the safest thing you can do,'” she said.

Despite taking every precaution to ensure her safety, Aunt Ruth became pregnant at age 18 while working from home.

“We were there so that the government and anyone else who was willing and able could use and abuse us,” she said in an interview.

The Queensland Truth and Healing Inquiry Commission will continue public hearings in Brisbane on Friday before travelling to other parts of the state.

The Inquiry will examine the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and will provide findings, recommendations and advice to the Queensland Government.

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