A new truth-telling exhibition, Secrets of Dawn, is set to open at Carriageworks, Gadigal Land, featuring contributions from over 30 survivors and descendants of the Coota Girls. This poignant exhibition delves into the harsh realities behind the stories of the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls and the manipulative narratives promoted by Dawn Magazine. Secrets of Dawn: Unveiling the Truth Behind the Coota Girls
Dawn Magazine was established by the Aborigines Welfare Board (1940-1969) as a publication aimed at the Aboriginal community of New South Wales. Ostensibly, it served to promote the initiatives of the Board while featuring photographs and narratives from stations, reserves, and training institutions across the state. However, its underlying aim was far more insidious: to distort the truth regarding the living conditions and welfare of children who were forcibly removed from their families. Through staged photographs and misleading articles, Dawn Magazine presented an idealized view of assimilation into White Australian society, masking the suffering and trauma experienced by the Aboriginal children.
One institution frequently mentioned in Dawn Magazine was the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls, often referred to more than 100 times throughout all editions of the magazine. This home was depicted as a place of opportunity and care, a portrayal that Coota Girls Survivor and Secrets of Dawn contributor, Aunty Jean Carter nee McKenzie, vehemently disputes.
“They’d have this big write-up about how wonderful it was, what was happening in these homes…particularly in Cootamundra,” Aunty Jean recalls. “But they never wrote about the stories of what was happening behind the scenes. Never, ever, ever wrote anything about that.”
Secrets of Dawn integrates material from Dawn Magazine with contemporary contributions from Coota Girls Survivors and their descendants. This combination reveals the strategies employed under the Aborigines Protection Act (1909-1969) to further the agenda of forcibly assimilating First Nations peoples.
Meagan Gerrard, a Coota Girls descendant and director of Secrets of Dawn, emphasizes the devastating impact of these post-colonial efforts. “Post-colonisation, we are left with evidence of an attempt to eradicate this living, breathing, and thriving system and my ancestors who belonged to it…to eradicate me…my own children…my people,” she says. “The Dawn Magazines are proof of this attempt at genocide and an illustration of how comfortable they were with the use of trickery and deception as one of their weapons.”
Secrets of Dawn invites attendees to listen to the authentic narratives of forced removal and assimilation, honoring the brave journeys of the Coota Girls Survivors and their descendants. These individuals stand as pioneers in truth-telling, healing, and self-determination, offering a powerful counter-narrative to the deceptive stories once propagated by Dawn Magazine.
This initiative is a project of the Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation, developed and directed by Meagan Gerrard (Wailwan Gamilaroi) and Alex McWhirter, with curation by Dennis Golding (Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay). It calls on all survivors of the Stolen Generations, their family members and descendants, First Nations individuals, and non-Indigenous allies to participate in this crucial event.
Secrets of Dawn opens on Wednesday, 7 August at Carriageworks, Gadigal Land. Join us to uncover the truth and honor the resilience of the Coota Girls and their families.
For more information, visit the Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation’s website or follow them on social media.
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