Title: Roelands Village
Presenter: Carmen Braidwood
Date of Broadcast: 3rd February 19

If you road tripping the states South West, you must keep an eye out for the historic community of Roelands.

• Nestled in the foothills of the Darling Range between Bunbury and Perth, you will find the historic community of Roelands Village sharing Aboriginal culture and stories with the world.
• The Roelands Estate can be used for conferences and is also a flourishing bush tucker farm, a great place for a rest stop on your next holiday.
• The village was started in 1941, where Aboriginal children were bought in from all parts of Western Australia. The records say that 500 children were bought to Roelands.
• Les Wallam who is the CEO of Roelands Village was one of the children initially bought to Roelands and he is committed to sharing stories and history of the area with others.
• Syd Jackson was also a child bought to the village and after becoming a champion footballer, he has come back to Roelands to work as an Ambassador for Roelands Village and the Outback Academy.
• Syd and Les share their stories and try to give a balanced point of view about life and growing up as a child on the mission, which varies from the people who adapted well and call it home, to people who are highly traumatized by what happened back then, so its not one story it is many.
• It is a wonderful way to repurpose the place and use it in a more positive way to move forward.
• The estate is a working bush tucker farm and one of the produce the estate farms is Wattle Seeds.
• The farm is a good income generator for a little place like Roelands. They are a registered charitable group and all the activities onsite and the farm, supports the village and its operations.

www.roelandsvillage.com.au
www.westernaustralia.com