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Outlook: Becoming an elder in the community I was stolen from as a baby

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Dianne O'Brien with her mother, aged two.

03/03/2022 GMT

Becoming an elder in the community I was stolen from as a baby

BBC World Service - Outlook, Becoming an elder in the community I was stolen from as a baby

How Australian Dianne O'Brien discovered her Indigenous heritage - and her calling

How Australian community leader Dianne O'Brien discovered the truth of her Indigenous heritage - and her calling.

Dianne O'Brien was born in the 1940s and grew up in an Irish-Australian family near Sydney. But when she was just 14, her world was torn apart: her beloved mother died, her father abandoned her and she discovered she was adopted. She was sent to a notorious children's home, where she gave birth to her first child, the result of a sexual assault. Years later, she went in search of her birth family and discovered she was Indigenous, part of the Stolen Generation and a descendant of celebrated Indigenous Australian politicians. Dianne eventually went on to become a leader in her own right in the community she was taken from so many decades before. Dianne has written a book about her life, Daughter of the River Country. A warning that this interview contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence. 

Professor of Philosophy and Music David Rothenburg likes to jam...and his bandmates are birds. David is fascinated by birdsong and he visits outdoor spaces to play with the birds living there. He even likes to imitate their sounds, such as those made by pheasants and nightingales. This interview was first broadcast in 2019.

(Photo: Dianne O'Brien with her mother, aged two. Credit: Courtesy of Dianne O'Brien)

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