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Have you ever seen something so exquisite and beautiful

and that you might be at least a little bit close to,

and you don't even think you deserve that,

to stand in someone's light?

That's how I feel around Ruby sometimes.

How's it going? Come on through.

You came straight from the airport, did you?

Yes.

So you haven't done any rehearsing.

No. Ooh.

Bit dark here.

Bit dark just there, eh?

Where can we put these paintings?

We've got just the sport for you.

In front of the wall.

Well.

I remember, when we were living in Melbourne,

and I think it was a good while anyway -

eight months, or the best part of a year anyway -

but, um... I just dried up.

I couldn't write. Had a drought.

Yeah, I had a drought. That's better than drying up.

And I couldn't write, put pen to paper.

Everything that I wrote was just rubbish.

So, cut a long story short, we ended up I said,

"Come on, we'll just pack up

"and go to the river for a couple of days,

"and take it easy and camp by there for a while."

That was the best thing I could have done,

because on the second day - the second day! -

the river give me a song.

And I've been writing ever since.

So it certainly replenished my soul.

That's the beauty...

Better warn you fellas that

I always interrupt you too, don't I?

Ruby always interrupts me.

That's it.

So, without further ado,

It's like the river gets into my blood,

into my veins

and that's what this song's about.

into the blood

better pray

into the blood

or where I been

calls me back again

into the blood

into the blood

This is a song about

times before I was taken away from my home.

When I remember playing games with my sister

down at the Coorong.

I remember daisy chains, knuckle bones and string games.

Please, come, and I'll show you.

Let's have a game.

and knuckle bones

our Coorong home

string games and knuckle bones

our Coorong home

were having fun

short and long

That's anew one!

on the lagoon

string games and knuckle bones

our Coorong home

string games and knuckle bones

our Coorong home

the only way to play

build a bridge

this is what we did

string games and knuckle bones

the families stews

Don't talk to me, Archie Roach.

string games and knuckle bones

string games and knuckle bones

Yep.

That's just after I finished playing my games,

then they came and took me away.

Told me to come to the circus, but that's another story.

It was a time that, uh...

People were coming and starting to take us out.

And these people came and asked our mum, nan,

that, "Can... We'd like to take your children to the circus."

And she allowed this,

'cause they told her that they were gonna bring us back.

But, wasn't the case.

The circus only had a one-way ticket.

That was the first time we had to wear clothing,

so I remember first time putting shoes, socks,

them little panties, petticoats.

Didn't know how to put them on,

but they were laughing at me getting dressed.

You know, I'd walk over with pants on my head, or,

"What's this for? What do you do with these?"

Anyway...

A hat, to keep your ears warm.

Little brown coat.

They come the next day, and sister said,

"Yeah, they gave us ice-cream, balloon

"and a parcel to put in our hand."

Like the song with Archie - Took The Children Away.

Gave us gifts to ease the pain.

I'm thinking, "Wow.

"How ironic is that?

"They gave me and my brother and sisters gifts...

"and took us to the circus."

Gave us gifts to ease the pain.

I don't know why they just didn't leave you there.

Them lot weren't hurting anyone.

Weren't hurting anyone.

I think as soon as they gave us gifts to ease the pain...

Just playing daisy chains and string games and knuckle bones.

That's all. Catching fish.

The Murray is the largest river in Australia.

It is the boundary between two states.

It was discovered in 1824

by Captain William Hovell of Yarmouth

and Hamilton Hume, Esq., of Parramatta Town, NSW.

"We'd been on the trek with our wagons for 30 days

"and had covered some 400 miles.

"The country was difficult,

"but we were making good progress.

"The Aboriginals had hardly troubled us at all.

"On the morning of November the 16th,

"we broke camp about half an hour after sunrise

"and had only gone 3.5 miles by the triangulator

when the valley we were following

opened out onto a fertile plain.

Hume had gone on ahead

and he became extremely excited

when he suddenly arrived at the bank of a very fine river.

that remind you

the dress she wore

‘cause you see

they'd taken children

It's amazing, Ruby's mind, I think,

how she can remember things at such an early age.

I mean, I really don't have any recollection,

even of that...

I was about three, being taken.

Uh...

A lot of memories of growing up

and just being with my foster parents and that.

I don't remember much about anything happening,

the incident itself, you know?

The actual act of being taken away,

I can't even remember that, you know?

Which, I suppose, is a blessing.

You know? Yeah.

But the fact that it happened,

and, I mean, there's others that are alive,

and my people who are alive today that do remember it.

And, oddly enough, that's where you get...

That's where you get the pain from.

chill me to the bone

where they took me from

There is some kind of gentle flow from song to song,

which evokes a river, as a sort of body of work.

And so I thought, well, I live on the Murray River,

and the Murray River

is obviously a huge issue in Australia at the moment.

And it's very, very connected with Indigenous culture.

And in a way, a metaphor

for what we've done to Indigenous culture

in this country.

I put that to him. Next day, we met Archie and Ruby.

And then I discovered that

actually everything is deferred to Ruby.

So I ask Archie a question,

and immediately, you know, there's a silence,

with Archie turning his head to Ruby,

and Ruby sitting there nodding,

and then finally there's some whisper,

you know, sotto voce conversation going on,

and the answer is conveyed back to me.

But it's really Ruby who's answering the questions.

And I came to understand that

any issues dealing with this stuff,

it's Ruby's business.

It's not Archie's business.

It's Ruby's business.

It's Ngarrindjeri business.

This is what the song's all about.

This little fella here.

My sister told me a story that our dad went out...

He was cleaning a net, facing the other way,

and that's when Coolamon Baby just...

The coolamon floated off the land.

The river water tide come in.

Everybody was sort of busy, so, you know...

You wouldn't expect it.

So, it could happen to anybody.

Just was very, very lucky that

Dad went up to his waist

and pulled our baby brother back from the reeds

as he was going.

They spotted him in time, ran out there to his waist,

pulled the baby back.

That's a story my big sister told me.

And I could see this.

If you turn your back for one second,

something might escape your eyes.

So never turn your back.

Always make sure you...

I think there's a motto in this painting.

Keep your eyes open.

Thank you, my daughter-in-law.

- So... - I love that.

- When it's done with an... - I love this painting.

..with the orchestra, though,

when you sing it with the orchestra,

oh, gives me goosebumps.

was cleaning fishing net

fishing net

to the safety

I was picking grapes in Mildura

and I decided to leave, I had enough picking grapes.

But I left, cashed-up, and got out on the highway.

But I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go back to Melbourne,

come back to Melbourne here,

or head west, across to Adelaide.

So I think I smoked about three -

young people in the audience, don't smoke cigarettes -

but I think I smoked about three,

contemplating whether to go west

or head back to Melbourne.

So I tossed a coin. I kid you not.

I tossed a coin in the air - heads, I went ahead,

tails, I'd go back to Melbourne.

It came up heads. I went to Adelaide.

And the first night, I stayed in a park

and got meself a bottle of wine to keep meself warm.

The second night,

I stayed in a place called the People's Palace,

a cheap accommodation place run by the Salvation Army,

at the time.

And, that's where I met Ruby Hunter.

Yes.

But anyway...

I stopped the gambler from rambling.

How dare he hitchhike into my town.

This is you Old So and So.

Let him tell you the story.

was walking down the stairs

standing there

and I will show you

stop talking

who were there

their heads and answered no

of concrete and stone

and he felt all alone

at the Palace

I might as well as

a long time ago

TV Show

were not well

a long time ago

TV Show

I met Archie when I was 16.

I was in the elevator and heard this sort of running.

And as the elevator door opened,

Archie spun around, like that.

And I was, "He's mine! Tell 'em not to touch him."

of concrete and stone

- Good day today, Archie? - Very productive day.

Good day. Wonderful day, my brother.

You know, couple of new songs with the orchestra,

and you know, these fellas are stinking this.

It's...

It's really good.

I mean, they just...

Because they've worked with us before,

but they know the feel, you know?

The feel of the songs.

And it's just a pleasure to sing to it, you know?

If we can...

If we can get through all of it.

It's just been wonderful. Good time.

Look out.

And working with these guys,

they're all great musicians, you know?

Mad as hatters, but they're all great musicians.

You better look at the Ruby doll if you come in here.

Little close look at...

That's me.

My favourite outfit.

When I was with my foster people.

Lot of people didn't make it home.

They ended up in halfway houses.

I - I ended up in a very special place too...

..before I ended up on the streets.

I had a beautiful, beautiful, um...

You know, just want to say something that

my foster mum and dad are here.

And they did the best they could for me.

It's just that when I left, things didn't go right.

And they're here tonight, my mum and dad.

They're the mum and dad that looked after me.

She come good! She come good, eh?

Yep. They come all the way from... Portorgutta!

Port Augusta. Port Augusta.

Yeah.

And I'm very honoured to have...

..to thank them for looking after me.

But I will say this is a song, Down City Streets.

Yep.

I ended up down there too.

But not for long, 'cause I got...

Someone showed me another sign.

"You're going on the wrong street, baby. Back that way."

It's good when you get directed

in the right direction.

Isn't it?

But someone else loses you

when you really don't want to get lost.

OK.

So, down city streets, we will go.

I would roam

that I owned

They were lucky I didn't cry tonight, them fellas.

- You made me cry. - Oh, well, that's good.

No, when you were...

Down City Streets, couldn't dance and it just hit me.

I don't know. You're just so beautiful.

She's just so beautiful.

Yeah, it was out at La Perouse.

All the mobs from everywhere, all over the country,

Aboriginal people came from everywhere.

Man, it was... Ah, it was beautiful!

Amazing thing.

And I felt really good,

singing to all these mobs from everywhere, and I...

I just sang them that song.

I said, "I've just got a song I just wrote I'd like to sing."

And I sang Took The Children Away there.

- And, uh... - And that was it.

I don't know. I didn't realise what I'd done.

Well, we had people from all over Australia,

all the Aboriginal people from all over Australia,

and each of those people

didn't realise that you were gonna sing that there.

No. I had no idea what I'd done.

Before you even walked out of our room, I said,

"This song's gonna...

"This song's not only written for you, Archie Roach,

"but for many, many children."

And then you'd done it.

You know that, you know I said that to you, eh?

You didn't write that song for yourself.

No.

This next song is very important to me, I tell you.

Like so many other children, I believe this song is...

Yeah. It's my song too.

Thank you, Mr Roach.

I mean, Archie.

Ah.

What was it you were playing? What are those games?

Daisy chains, string games and knuckle bones.

- Yes. - Ah.

No wonder they took you away.

this story's true

they did not keep

like sheep

"Come take our hand"

to write and pray

the children away

their mothers' breast

"You've got to understand

what you can't give

really live"

they said

taught them this

mothers' hearts

"Go get their Dad"

were falling down

and stood his ground

kids you gotta fight me, boy"

from our family

Took us away

our mothers' breast

I like singing to it, the way it's done -

arranged, with the orchestra.

Because it gives...

It sort of lifts me up more.

It takes me above it.

It takes me above that circumstance,

and puts me somewhere else.

And then...

That sort of, like...

It reminds me of something regimental too, in a way.

Which was very much so a big part of my life,

especially in the Salvation Army homes.

Very regimental.

And so it all sort of...

For me, it sort of makes sense.

the white man's ways

to ease the pain

to the foster homes

oh, we felt alone

yet feeling Black

all the children came back

their hearts grow strong

they understand

My sister-in-law, she put the basket back in my hand.

So I went home, finished off tadi bag.

This is what the river land story's all about.

It's about my art, my culture, my life.

tadi ?

- tadi? - tadi bag.

Ooh. Well, in the English word, it's called an egg, E-G-G. Egg.

Egg. tadi is.

Now, what I remember, when I was a little girl,

you had to be very light to be able to walk on a lily pad.

Mmm. That's really walking on water, isn't it?

You had to be very...

To get right into the middle of the reeds.

The other people take me across in the canoe.

And then I'd jump out,

and they'd go, "Be careful, my girl.

You've gotta watch out for the reeds.

They'd put me in, and I'd walk on the lily pad,

and I'd get in amongst the reeds,

and I'd part them like this,

and look in there, make sure there's no snakes.

What a dangerous little job I had to do.

But anyway, got the eggs,

back in the little canoe, and back home.

So, we had our little scrambled eggs.

Even though I was taken, put away,

locked away,

other people kept things for me, back at home.

So, I went back home and picked up my culture, my art,

and I do my wild basket weaving,

and I do my feather flowers.

We love our feather flowers.

This song is just about being proud as an Aboriginal woman.

And I am proud to be a Ngarrindjeri woman.

And to be able to know

and carry on my culture with my family.

traditional land

when I was a little girl

business ways

Some fella said, "You feel sad about telling your story like this?"

I said, "Why?

"No-one's ever asked me before, to tell them."

When you're asked to say something, why not say it?

It's a part of coming together...

Being part of...

Communicating.

I think the saddest thing about those days,

a lot of people didn't know to communicate in the right way.

Didn't have any idea of what...

..what the consequences were.

For others.

They didn't seem to want to understand where you...

..where you were coming from, though, did they?

No, no.

Just wanted us to learn everything as their way but not our way.

And that's what I felt. I felt neglected, that they didn't understand.

And that's why it's important today that people understand,

through these river songs and that,

that we're still here today.

We're still waiting to be understood.

How long does it take for people to really understand?

The next generation?

Must be getting close.

I'd like to thank the old river -

the old Murray River,

for what it's given to this earth and to people.

And, uh, it's sort of like,

I sang a song called Into The Bloodstream,

and it's like if we think of the rivers as our veins,

it's just as important as the veins in our body,

because we know what happens

when the veins in our bodies start to clog up

or we put bad things into them.

We're in for a major heart attack, or a stroke.

And believe you me,

this being a physical land as well as a spiritual land,

it's in for a major heart attack or a stroke,

if we're not careful.

So thank that blessed river, the Murray.

Thank you.

oh, like a river

what you give her

in the river's flow

tears and misery

in the river's flow

for you and me

yes, I am

in the river's flow

The Australian Art Orchestra!

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Beautiful.

No, what key's that?

Let me start again.

know how to dream

for our water

any fish and chips

Only chips.

Oh, sorry.

No, you're not.

Gotta love a bubble bath.

Get us a drink of water, baby.

to us today

into the river

Yeah, we do.

our luxury houseboat

care for the water

cruise our luxury houseboats

Yeah.

River cruise.

And that's it.

- Bravo. That's it. - That's a deadly song.