Uncle Dennis Mark Fuller
Ngarigo Warrior Elder
My story begins with a baby girl born in Cooma, NSW in 1925 to an Aboriginal Ngarigo Father and Mother who was a descendent of an American man who arrived in Cooma in the 1850’s and was later known as “Hank the Yank” from Yankee Flats near Numeralla.
“This baby girl was removed not long after birth...until...selected...to perform house duties and child minding”
This baby girl was removed not long after birth by officials of the Government and reared by Nuns in institutions including Goulburn, Bowral and Guildford. She did not know who her parents were. She stayed under the control of the Nuns until a visit from a barrister and his wife selected her to perform house duties and child minding at their residence in Sydney. She was in her early teens. At 18 she began her own journey by residing at a hostel and working at the Woollen Mills in Parramatta.
It was there she befriended a girl from North Parramatta who was one of a family of seven, descendants of English immigrants from the 1820’s. One of the seven was a man who was to become the love of her life. They later married and had four children, one girl and three boys. They resided in Blacktown, NSW.
“This baby girl was my mother...who had no identity until her frequent trips to Cooma...yielded who she really was”
This baby girl was my mother, Kathleen, a person of the “Stolen Generations”, who had no identity until her frequent trips to Cooma and conversations with descendants yielded who she really was.
In 1986 my mother passed at sixty years of age. Her legacy to her family was her compassion, loyalty, toughness and never-give-up attitude. My father, Bruce, was a hard-working, devoted man from a tough upbringing. His mother died when he was six years old. He was left in the care of his father, a battle-scarred of the Light Horse Brigade from The Great War. He left home after years of torment at 13 and found refuge at a dairy farm where he worked to fund his board and lodgings. The farmer’s wife took him under her wind and kept money aside for him when he decided to move on. They eventually sold the farm and Dad left aged 18 to enter the next phase of his life. He never remarried and passed in 2015 aged 90. He taught me the value and rewards of hard work. My parents were two people who came from a tough, lonely and unloved beginning to unite and raise a family with the greatest love and devotion. They have moulded me into what I am today.
My Uncle was a soldier with the Army in World War II. A descendant of my Mum is Ernest Albert Corey, a highly-decorated soldier from World Wars I and II. My older brother served with the Australian Army in the 70’s; my younger brother until recently served with the Royal Australian Air Force. It makes me so proud to have two brothers who have followed in our ancestors’ footsteps in the defence of our lands.
My sister is Aunty Therese. Her tireless long-term dedication to to her family, the Indigenous community, the Rotary Club community and the RSL community, among others, make her a true inspiration for all of us. Aunty Therese is the oldest of the family (there is an 18 year gap between her and my youngest brother Noel) and as such she gives her brothers all the love and support our Mum would have given us if she were here today.
I was born in 1957 in Blacktown, NSW. My education began at Patrician Brothers, Blacktown until achieving a School Certificate in 1972. It was here I began my love of sport. It started at the early age of nine with rugby league, I continued playing well into my twenties until my body could no longer take the punishment. During those years I also played touch football and continue to play today. My passion for surfing began in the Summer of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s and remains today. In the late ‘90’s I became a committee member of the Cabarita Longboarders’ Club, where I held positions as Secretary, Vice President and President.
My working life began with an apprenticeship at the Daily Mirror in Sydney. It was here under strike conditions in the Gough Whitlam era when I was working on one of the machines when an entourage of bosses was walking towards me and one of them approached me for a chat. It was Rupert Murdoch. After completing my apprenticeship I fulfilled my ambition to work outdoors in the building trade. I engaged in concreting, construction labouring and house building on the Central Coast of NSW, however the housing market declined so I returned to Sydney.
Dad was an overseer at Prospect County Council and before long I was working in the underground section. I applied for the Cable Jointing School and was accepted. This was to remain my trade until I retired in 2019. During my time as a cable jointer I attended training facilities in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Australia to maintain my higher voltage accreditation (330kV). I have a Diploma in Project Management, I was a Commissioning Coordinator and am a life member of the Electrical Trades Union. I was a business director, Operations Manager and part-owner of two electrical companies, one of which had a multi-million-dollar annual turnover.
Today I am retired, living with my beautiful wife Salme. We have travelled extensively around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Europe, USA, Scandinavia and Pacific Islands. We have two kids, Kaisi and Denny. Kaisi is studying a Bachelor of Social Work after a lengthy career in the real estate industry. Denny is a qualified electrician and cable jointer with extensive experience in the construction industry.
As Director of the Ngarigo Nations Indigenous Corporation I intend to protect our culture, our artefacts and our environment, and make a future for the next Ngarigo generations.
My motto is “Nothing will change unless you change it”