Kurnai elder Aunty Cheryl Drayton looks back at the days of living on Jackson's Track with fond memories.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story has images of people who have died.
More than 100 Indigenous people lived at the property near Jindivick, east of Melbourne, from the 1940s to the 1960s.
"For kids growing up on Jackson's Track, [it] was fantastic," Aunty Cheryl said.
But its residents lived with the constant threat of their children being taken.
"We all knew that you couldn't trust the government. You couldn't trust the border protection," Aunty Cheryl said.
Life on Jackson's Track
The 161-hectare property on Jackson's Track was owned by Daryl Tonkin, a white man who used it to fell timber for the mill.
"My grandfather [Stuart Hood] wandered into the camp and asked … [if there] was any work. And from that day on, they started working together," Aunty Cheryl said.
After Stuart Hood, his wife Dorothy and their family moved to the property, their daughter — Aunty Cheryl's mother Euphemia Mullet married Mr Tonkin, and they raised their family there.
At the time, Aunty Cheryl said many Indigenous people were moving around to find work due to the conditions on missions, particularly the lack of suitable food.
Families moved from around the state to Jackson's Track, where the men worked stripping bark and cutting wood for steam engines.
Aunty Cheryl said there was plenty of work for everyone else too.
"Our jobs as kids was to have makeshift brooms that were made out of ti-tree," she said.
"We'd brush all of the dirt off … around the huts, we'd collect the water and bring it up from the creek, we collected the firewood.
"And then … we were allowed to go and play up the creek.
"I think that lifestyle on the track was just one of the best things that a kid could have."
Protecting women and children
Dorothy Hood and her daughters Euphemia Mullet and Regina Rose are credited with protecting women and children at the camp.
"They came off Lake Tyers [Aboriginal] Mission, and there was plenty of domestic violence going on," Aunty Cheryl said.
"And there was also plenty of children being removed."
Aunty Cheryl said there were strict rules set up by the matriarchs.
"They took it upon themselves to say, 'Well, if men go down to the pub for a beer or whatever, they weren't to come home," Aunty Cheryl said.
"These rules were all set around the protection of women and children so that they didn't end up being in a domestic violence situation and having their kids removed."
Aunty Cheryl's grandmother and mother emphasised religion and clean washing as ways to protect children from being taken.
"[Learning about Christianity] helps you understand the structures that are in non-Aboriginal societies that [white people] worship," Aunty Cheryl said.
"Their … clothes were all up to scratch because at any stage, the welfare could have come in and removed the kids immediately."
Regina Rose's role at Jackson's Track was to help the kids have fun.
"[She and the children would] sit around the campfire and sing, and [she] ensured that all of the children were enjoying themselves," Aunty Cheryl said.
"She'd act out silly things."
End of Jackson's Track
The welfare board shut down the camp in the 60s.
Kurnai elder and Aunty Cheryl's sister Linda Mullet said once the camp disbanded, it was pretty lonely for those who moved into the various surrounding towns.
"They lost all heart after they moved into town … [they weren't] able to move around and be free and visit somebody just up the road," Ms Mullet said.
She said many of them had to wait for government housing when they were moved, and over the five years of transition, she hardly saw them.
Ms Mullet said many of them struggled with isolation and loneliness, particularly after losing work and struggling to find another job
"The whole lifestyle had changed," she said.
"There was nothing to do and [they got] … into alcohol and other things."
Ms Mullet said the families faced more racism once they came into town too.
"It was just so sad to see the dispersion that happened through their removal and not [being] a community and connected, and that's really taken away their livelihood," she said.
Remembering the history
A life-size bronze statue of Dorothy Hood, Regina Rose and Euphemia Mullet was recently unveiled in Drouin's Civic Park in Victoria's West Gippsland.
Ms Mullet said people are unaware of the history of the area.
"All generations should be embracing the knowledge and the power of these women that protect their kids and what they did for their community," she said.
"The women have stood strong to try to keep their community together."
Drouin-based writer Jeannie Haughton compiled histories of the three women that can be accessed by QR code at the base of the statue.
"This is a project about storytelling for women … and so often these stories are not recorded," Ms Haughton said.
"These three women were kind of ordinary women living out on Jackson's Track … but they lived with such adversity hanging over them."
She said more people need to know about their legacy.
"You can't go forward unless you acknowledge the way we are and the way we are is because of the past, so it's really important that we recognise these people," Ms Haughton said.
