Celebrating Bourke’s Pound Yard Camp

The original Pound Yard planning meeting between Victor Bartley, Dwayne Willoughby, Kevin Knight and Maureen Bates-McKay. Photo: TWH/Contributed

A significant chapter of Bourke’s history will be remembered and honoured this NAIDOC Week with a community celebration at the site of the former Pound Yard Camp.

The event will take place on Friday 11 July at 12.30pm and aims to recognise the Aboriginal families who lived in the camp up until the late 1960s.

Organised by descendants of the families who once called the camp home, the gathering is an opportunity for all members of the community to come together and learn more about this deeply meaningful part of Bourke’s past.

Maureen Bates-McKay, who spent her early years at the camp, says the celebration is about more than simply looking back.

“This is not about making anyone feel guilty, it’s about truth-telling,” she said.

“It’s about celebrating the families who lived there, how strong they were, and how far we’ve come. Our parents raised us in tin humpies, with no water, no electricity, dirt floors, and they still managed to raise good, strong children.” […]

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