Under a Bilari Tree I Born

Bringing up nine children of your own is a major achievement in itself. Bringing up a further 15 foster children is truly remarkable. Alice Bilari Smith had lived in the Pilbara all her life, on stations and in the bush, on government reserves and in towns. As a girl on Rocklea Station she narrowly avoided removal from her family by “the Welfare.” She grew up in the ways of her country, hunting, cooking, and building in the traditional manner. Some of her children were born in the bush, others in the hospital. By the time she had five children of her own she was playing an active role in caring for other Aboriginal children, and she initiated the establishment of the Homemakers Centre in Roebourne. Both a remarkable life and a typical life, Alice’s story is insightful and inspiring.

Alice Bilari Smith was born at Rocklea Station in the Pilbara in 1923, her mother being a Banyjima woman and her father a white teamster. She was raised by her Aboriginal family and spent most of her adult years living in the bush and raising a large family. She died on February 1, 2012 at Roebourne District Hospital. Anna Vitenbergs is a freelance ghostwriter who previously worked on Lola Young: Medicine Woman and Teacher. Loreen Brehaut is a writer who previously worked on Miles of Post and Wire with Florence Corrigan.