The story of a young Aboriginal woman sent to the other side of the country is being told by her descendants.
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains photos of a person who has died.
Bessy Flowers was born on Menang country in Albany, Western Australia in the mid-1800s.
As a teenager, she was sent to Sydney to train as a teacher, then onto Victoria for work, and would spend the rest of her life there.
Now her family, from each side of the country, and who met for the first time to tell Bessy's story, are reclaiming their kin.
The book No Longer a Wandering Spirit, published by the University of Western Australia, tells the story of Bessy's life.
It has been co-written by Menang Goreng elder Ezzard Flowers and author Sharon Huebner who also worked with the Bryant family, Bessy's descendants from the eastern states.
The collaboration was a 10-year journey.
Mr Flowers said it had been an incredible and emotional experience.
"Reuniting and connecting through this relationship [with the Bryant family] has been empowering," he said.
"It gave us a connection and link to each other from different sides of the country."
Mr Flowers said it was a powerful story to share for many reasons.
"In regards to Aboriginal history and heritage, there's not much that has been written through the eyes, voices, and visions of Aboriginal people," he said.
Mr Flowers said he hoped readers would feel the same.
"I hope that everybody who opens this book will not only embrace them in the journey but also connect them to their experiences as well," he said.
Teacher and mother of eight
Bessy was raised by Anne and Henry Camfield at Albany's Annesfield Native Institution. The old house still stands today.
At just 15, she was sent to a Church of England model school in Sydney to be educated and trained to become a teacher.
Three years later, Bessy was sent to Ramahyuck Aboriginal Mission near Lake Wellington in eastern Victoria, where she assumed a teaching position for two years.
Ms Huebner said Bessy married a Wotjobaluk man from the Wimmera in north-western Victoria; it was an arranged marriage.
They went on to have eight children together.
Bessy was a devoted mother, who was well educated, and also a talented musician who played the piano, Ms Huebner said.
Bessy never made it back home to Menang country. She died, at approximately 46 years old, on January 14, 1895.
Two days later, Bessy was buried with her nine-year-old daughter who had died about six years earlier.
Their unmarked graves are somewhere in the old Presbyterian section of the Bairnsdale Cemetery in East Gippsland.
Rightful owners
Ms Huebner said while Bessy's story had been shared before, along with those of others like her, the importance of sharing a story through family was significant.
"[It's about] returning heritage materials to their rightful owners, which are those individuals and family members who would like to reclaim a space for their ancestors on their own terms, and in ways that they choose to do so," she said.
Ms Huebner said she hoped Bessy's story and the way it was told would motivate others.
"I'm hoping it inspires other individuals and families to go on a similar journey and believe that it is possible to find ways to access your historical materials," she said.
Ms Huebner said there was a great need for Aboriginal history to be told by Aboriginal families.
"The value in restoring cultural authority over heritage materials in public institutions, there is still a great need," she said.
"[These are] … stories that they hold and that they need to be able to share with future generations."
