Aunty Agnes Shea OAM

Aunty Agnes was born on the 4th September 1931, the 5th of nine children to Violet Josephine Bulger and Edward Walter Vincent Bulger at Oak Hill in Yass N.S.W. The family were later moved to Hollywood Aboriginal Mission also in Yass.

Aunty Agnes’s father died on Christmas eve 1939 which devastated the whole family.  Soon after, the mother developed rheumatic fever and struggled to keep the family together.

Aunty Agnes was encouraged by her teacher at the mission school to ensure that the three youngest children went to school each day. With the help of the staff, they ensured that the Aboriginal Protection Board did not institutionalise the children. It was a big task for Aunty Ages at the age of eight with her mother in hospital for over 6 months, but the family stayed together, and she was able to continue school.

Aunty Agnes married Ronald Joseph Walker on 13 July 1947. They had two children, Mary in 1949 and Ron in 1951. Aunty Agnes’s husband died tragically in a fire in 1952, leaving her alone with two small children.

Aunty Agnes then developed a relationship with a non-Aboriginal man, Charles William Shea.  They were both ostracised by their families as mixed marriages were frowned upon in the 1950s.

Aunty Agnes and Charles had four more children; Kathleen in 1953, Charles in 1954, John in 1957, and Annette in1964.

They proved to be happy and caring parents and soon the rift with their families was mended. Aunty Agnes and Charles continued to live in Yass, where most of the children attended school.

Due to illness in the family requiring prolonged medical care by one of the children, they decided to move to Canberra in the late 1960s.  They settled in Narrabundah and so began Aunty Agnes’s involvement in the Canberra community.  She worked as a domestic helper for a number of Canberra families during the 1970s and 1980s.  Their daughter Annette started school there as most of the other children finished schooling Yass.

Sadly, Aunty Agnes lost Charles in 1988, which was devastating for her and the family.  Aunty Agnes felt the impact of trying to keep the family together as a single mother again. Her children felt that she was the best mother that anyone could have.

Aunty Agnes taught herself to play the organ as she loved to sing, and music had always played a big part in her life.

Aunty Agnes’s mother became unwell and she insisted that they move from Tumut to Canberra so she could care for her together with her youngest son Joseph.

In the early 1990’s Aunty Agnes was asked to join a Health Committee.  She doubted the contribution she could make, especially from having only a mission education.  Her daughter Mary convinced her that she would bring a lot of wisdom and experience to the discussions of the committee.  Thus began Aunty Agnes’s involvement with the Aboriginal organisations in Canberra.

Sadly, Aunty Agnes lost the mother in 1993 aged 93. She was survived by five children, and nearly 300 grand, great-grand and great-great-grandchildren.

Aunty Agnes continued to have her brother live with her until his passing in 2011.

Aunty Agnes was a member of the Advisory Board to ACT Health, a foundation member of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council (UNEC) and continued serving until 2022.

It was through UNEC that Aunty Agnes founded and contributed to the establishment of the Ngunnawal Bush healing Farm.  Her vision was to establish a culturally appropriate alcohol and other drugs ‘live in rehabilitation’ service on country. Whilst the service is still operating, it unfortunately does not utilise its residential service, which was Aunty Agnes’s dream outcome.

Aunty Agnes also founded Glamby Circle Sentencing with the aim of assisting offenders in a culturally appropriate way to improve their lives.

Aunty Agnes was member of the Journey of Healing ACT. Many of you would have witnessed Aunty Agnes’s Welcome to Country speeches carrying on the tradition of her Elders.

Aunty Agnes was consulted and contributed to so many issues in the ACT, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous and was often acknowledged for her services.

In 2001 Aunty Agnes was awarded The Centenary Medal and 2004 she was awarded an Order of the Medal of Australia. She was also awarded the ACT Senior Citizen of the Year and a plaque on the ACT Honour Walk in 2010.

One of Aunty Agnes’s proudest moments was her selection to be the first Australian citizen to receive the Olympic torch for Australia in 2008.  When she received the torch on the tarmac of Canberra airport she stated “I welcome the torch to Australia in the spirit of peace on behalf of my people, whose history in this country goes back to the beginning of time.  May its stay here be one that symbolises goodwill for all mankind. ”

The Tuggeranong Arts Centre considered Aunty Agnes as a living treasure and approached the family to make a documentary of her life. This resulted in the DVD “Footprints on our Land”.  The documentary portrays an optimistic woman whose tenacity and good humour brought her through the challenges typical of Aboriginal people growing up on missions. It also highlights the ongoing Australian journey to Reconciliation.  The Family thanks all those involved in its development.

Aunty Agnes was happy and proud of the documentary, but sad that not many Elders have had the opportunity to have their history recorded for future generations.  It was officially launched in July 2016 in Canberra.

One of the principles which Aunty Agnes lived by was “if you show respect, you will receive respect” which proved to be so true.

Aunty Agnes passed on 11 March 2023.  At that time, she was survived by four children, thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Finally, Aunty Agnes’s family members will continue to work tirelessly to uphold her formidable legacy and continue her Reconciliation efforts.