I FOUND MY FAMLIY!!

My Mum never met her father and my family have been searching for him for years and finally, the day has come that I finally found him! Unfortunately my Mum Margaret Gemai Nawie has passed and will never get to see what her Dad looked like but we do. Me, you and the next generations to come can see the man our Nana fell in love with when she was 19yo on Thursday Island, Queensland married in Townsville and birthed their only child in Mareeba, Queensland before raising her as a single mum in Moe, Victoria.

This was my Mum's Dad - Lobrey Nawie nee Sailor

This is a photo of him (in the middle) 

This was his mother - Gemai Sailor

This was his father - James Nawie

(the man behind him was James' elest brother Naton Nawie)

I literally cried seeing these. My Mum grew up with her "white" side of the family in a "white" community along side her blonde hair, blue eyed sister. She was subjected to racism and rejection from her own family and from the racist community including the Cathloc School she attended. 

Being proud of who she was came later on in her life and was hard for her. She never knew her family and only knew very little about her rich culture. When she was younger my Nana described my Mum trying to scrub off her black skin. She was so different and didn't understand why she was treated so badly. 

I cant help but imagine what Mums life could've been like had she known and understood who she was an found her identity in this family who have welcomed us. She may not have struggled with finding acceptance and love, alcoholism, prescription medications to numb the pain. She may not have been homeless or a drug addict prostituting for her next fix which eventually killed her. Imagine if she learned that she was loved, that her culture was beautiful and that she was a part of the largest family left on Thursday Island!

Fun Facts:

While doing a Google search I gathered this information about my Great Grandfather, James' Parents which I found in this notebook..

Dugong - Banks Island Open married Ñarusa [from Moa (Banks Island)]; their children were James Nawie and Esther

 Narusa, bom c.1892 at Adam, a village on Moa, died 1943, daughter of Aikuru and Idabu, married Open or Aken Nawie (c. 1882-1943) in 1912. Aken Nawie was bom on Mabuiag, the son of Nawi from Tanna and his wife, Amakudulu or Kudulu. The family lived at Adam before moving to St Paul’s Mission, Moa. James was bom c.1914 and Esther in 1916.

In the FL version, Open and Ñarusa have only two children, Zemes Nawi (James Nawie) and Eta (really Esther)

You can find the Family Tree here..

*Adding photos to the family tree now