On October 25at the National Conference for the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) gala dinner in Port Macquarie NSW, Joyce Clague, MBE, Patron of Woolitji Cooperative, received the 2012 Leadership Ambassador Award presented by Maggie Beer AM. This was given for her hands-on contribution and leadership in the community, as well as her playing a significant and inspirational role in motivating and advancing Aboriginal people’s lives.
One such person is Executive Director Professor Bob Morgan of Tranby College.
In his testimonial for Joyce he wrote: “As a young man from the bush (Walgett) I travelled to Sydney and Joyce was employed at the Foundation of Aboriginal Affairs (FAA) at the time. She listened to my woes and arranged for me to attend Tranby Aboriginal College as a boarder. Tranby College was an Aboriginal cooperative operating in Australia at the time. During my time spent at Tranby as a student I ended up sharing a room with Joyce’s brother Lester and my journey, involving education and training, had commenced.”
Bob highlighted the fact that Joyce and Tranby now hold a special place in his heart because of the impact that both have had on his growth and development as an Aboriginal educator.
In interviewing mum, I asked who planted the seed with regards to the cooperative idea and she came back with two names: Charles French and the Rev. Alf Clint. She said that both had contributed significantly to how she viewed and nurtured the idea of cooperatives. Charles French was very much an advocate for cooperatives after winning a UNESCO scholarship to Canada where he studied methods of cooperatives, with particular attention to those established on Indian reservations in Canada. Uncle Charles, as we called him, was nominated for the UNESCO scholarship by the principal of Tranby College, Rev. Alf Clint, so the connection was established.
She also talked about all the many people who helped her not only understand cooperative methods, but how to go about setting up cooperatives. She wished to thank all those many people who helped her. Grace Bardsley, who became a very dear friend and helped her when she first came to Sydney, was one. However, without the likes of Mr Les and Alice Clague, Mr Bob Jennings, Mrs Audrey Horn, Dale Randall, Colin Jennings, Helen Hambley, Mary Gilchrist, E & H Witton, the Paulian Association, Margaret Holmes, Alice and Tom Watson, Stella Cornelius, Eddie Ho, Kim and Judy Lim, Jean and Alf Jones, Anne White, J & M Love, J & C O’Grady, F Burrows, B & B Mathewson, J Simon, J Ranft, life would not have been the same. Then there was the tremendous work done by Vivienne Abrahams, lawyer and solicitor, who did so much for this cooperative, as well as other Indigenous organisations. Without her, their work would have been much diminished.
Her meeting with her husband, Colin, was a big factor in her life, as was her family back home on the North Coast of NSW, who helped people become members of the cooperatives which she had initiated. One such person was her sister Beatrice Heron, who is still a director.
Mum has devoted her life to many constructive changes to people’s lives in the cooperative movement, as well as for other Indigenous organisations. This applied especially in the context of Aboriginal heritage, employment, and education.
She did not expect to get an award and was very surprised to receive it, while being very happy and excited.
