Croker Island NT historical abuse survivors compensated for physical and sexual abuse at church mission

Indigenous leader and activist Eileen Cummings is one of 12 abuse survivors to reach an out of court settlement against the Uniting Church and Commonwealth Government, for physical and sexual abuse suffered at Croker Island Mission, north of Darwin in the 1940s and 50s.

The Rembarrnga Ngalakan woman was separated from her mother for 15 years after being forcibly removed from her family by the Australian Government in 1948 at just 4.5 years old. Dr Cummings, a Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation elders’ committee member, says she remembers experiencing physical abuse by the missionaries for speaking her native language.

“I got hidings for things that I did wrong, and I just thought it was part of this brand-new life even though I had never experienced beatings or violence at home before I was taken from my family. We weren’t allowed to speak our language or go to the ceremonies of our people nearby. We could hear singing, dancing and the didgeridoo at night. We used to try and sneak down but we were forbidden to do so. And that was natural to us and what we came from,” Dr Cummings said.

“The cottage sisters were single women who had never had children and didn’t know how to be mothers themselves. If you did anything wrong, you’d get punished and smacked. I was hit with an electric cord by the Superintendent or Reverend for fighting on the sporting field. A boy threw a stick and cut my foot open so I fought back and we got flogged for that. We thought it was normal. If we were caught taking fruit from the trees we’d be flogged. We saw other children getting belted the day we arrived. They wore turbans or head coverings because their heads had been shaved as punishment.”

Before she was taken to Croker Island, Dr Cummings was living on a cattle station with her mother, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins.

“It wasn’t as though I had nothing. I was safe and there was nothing wrong with me being there. My grandfather was head of the clan. He moved my mother and his people to the station to work. As soon as my mother was able to, she went to work. My family tried to get me back and my grandparents died before I could return. The missionaries would tell us that our mothers had gone. I thought this meant she had died. Before the island I was happy and then became an isolated child who lost her language and family,” Dr Cummings said.

Dr Cummings attended Darwin Highschool at age 15, while living in the church hostel with children from all over the NT. She became interested in education and became a kindergarten teacher. At 23, she became a policy advisor on Indigenous Affairs for the NT State Government Chief Minister’s Office and developed the family violence strategy to help her people. The 79-year-old said she never gave up her fight to get the Commonwealth Government to pay for what she went through on Croker Island.

“These Croker Island abuse claims being resolved means a sense of relief for some of us. It’s made up the last part of my fight. It’s been a good outcome. I have fought for years to make sure the deceased and their families were compensated by governments through redress schemes as well,” Dr Cummings said.

Slater and Gordon NT and QLD Abuse Lawyer Chloe McEwan who represented 12 Aboriginal clients to reach an out of court settlements last week, said the physical and sexual abuse occurred during the 1940s right through until the late 1960s.

“These children were not only taken from their families but treated poorly, and physically and sexually abused while in the care of the government and church. The mission run by the church and Commonwealth Government who owed the children a duty of care to protect them from harm which did not happen,” Ms McEwan said.

“They were beaten with leather straps as a punishment sometimes until they bled. Some of the children were sexually abused by older children and workers on the mission. Many have suffered psychological conditions and symptoms including nightmares, difficulty maintaining employment, relationship breakdowns and alcohol abuse. They did not feel loved or cared for. What they went through had devastating effects on their lives, with many saying the impact and trauma had been re-lived and felt by the generations who came after them within their families.”

Ms McEwan said one 94-year-old woman who will receive compensation for the childhood she lost and the abuse suffered after being taken from her family, could remember being evacuated from the island in 1942 during WWII, walking hundreds of kilometers and travelling by train to NSW before returning to the mission.

“These abuse survivors are now in their 70s and 80s. Many had not told anyone what happened until more recently. They have waited decades to receive compensation and an apology acknowledging what occurred. It’s certainly a very dark period in Australia’s history and not one that will ever be forgotten. We hope that by having their difficult experiences shared and their voices heard will bring about some healing,” Ms McEwan said