'I am Alice Smith, but my real name Bilari, because under a bilari tree I born, on Rocklea Station . . . A few years ago we went to the museum in Perth, to see all the old papers, and when my daughter follow them history way back, from Rocklea Station, my name is there: Bilari, and I born 1923.'
Alice Smith, born 79 years ago in the Pilbara region of WA was raised in a traditional hunter-gatherer community, and married in the traditional Aboriginal way. She gave birth to and raised most of her nine children according to the tribal ways.
When she moved to Roebourne, later in life, she fostered 15 children and was rewarded for her generous nature and devoted service to the children of the Pilbara with the presentation of a Certificate of Appreciation from Roebourne Community.
Delightfully engaging, Alice's story is made all the more vivid by the way she has been able to paint an amazingly detailed picture of a way of life that has, sadly, almost disappeared.
