Aunty Barbara Tolhurst

Aunty Barbara Tolhurst has family connections to Darwin & Daly River. As the youngest of nine children, she reflects on her experience being separated from her parents at the age of two and raised in the Bethel Children’s Home, where she stayed until adulthood.

Though, a happy childhood, growing up in a non-Indigenous institution led to later identity challenges through adulthood when Aunty Barbara began her journey of self-discovery, seeking to connect with her Indigenous heritage.  

This journey was supported through her successful nursing career, where she found connection to community through caring for their health. However, it didn’t come without challenges. Aunty Barbara reflects on her struggle between worlds, where she often felt a sense of not fully belonging to the White Australia, she was raised in or the First Nations communities she was rediscovering.  

Her story is one of strength, resilience and continued journey of identity and belonging.