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I
had heard all about this wonderful Aboriginal man with bright blue
eyes.
A tour guide at Umbarra Cultural Centre on the South coast of
New South Wales I was hoping to meet this fellow I had heard about. It proved to be my lucky
day. I ended up spending a couple of hours with Harold and discovered not only why people like him but why he is inspiring.
Harold Harrison was born in 1943 in Cumragunga on the Murray River. He has a mix of Irish English and Aboriginal blood but identifies with his
Aboriginal heritage.
Till the age of 7 Harold had a mum a dad and 2 brothers. One brother was at home the other was with welfare. Harold's mum died when he was
7. Welfare collected him and his brother. Harold was sent to Kinchela Boys Home whilst his brother was sent to Bomaderry Children's home for
Aboriginal boys and girls. Harold's brother was later adopted to doctors in Melbourne.
Harold stayed at the boys home till he was 16 years old. He was then sent up North to work on a farm where he learned how to milk cows
amongst other things. Harold made friends with the neighbours children. He learned there were 2 worlds. In one world everything is given to you
and in the other world you had to survive.
The farmer Harold worked for had a dispute with the neighbour something about a pig? The farmer told Harold not to communicate with the
neighbours at all.
Harold opposed the farmer and continued his friendship with the neighbours. For this he was fired and was sent to another farm in Hervanville.
Harold didn't last long here either especially after he rolled the tractor! He was soon sent to Woodenbong Mission when he was 17 years old. The
mission was 3 miles from the Queensland border in Northern NSW.
Harold was only at the mission for a couple of months before he ran away over the Queensland border. On his way he met a kindly Aboriginal
woman who gave him a totem 'jillum jillum' - little bird. She told him this totem would warn him and protect him from trouble.
Soon after Harold found a humpy and was taken in by the family living there. They helped to get him work mostly potato picking. This was only
another stepping stone in Harold's life. For the next few years Harold moved around a lot travelling mostly up and down the East coast of
Australia.
For such a young man Harold carried around with him a lot of pent up hate and hurt. At the age of 21 Harold found refuge from his feelings in
alcohol. The drinking continued even after he fell in love with Noeline who he married when he was 26. They had a beautiful daughter they
named Katherine Annette. Despite the joy this brought the marriage disintigrated not long after. They were married for 5 years.
Harold continued to drink. He ended up with another family a mother with 6 children.
Harold drank for a total of 30 years. He reached rock bottom in 1989. It was then that he started to learn about himself and started to let go of
the hate and the hurt. He told me he realised "I'm responsible for myself noone else". He also started to think about others.
A big opportunity presented itself to Harold in 1990. He became part of the Wallaga Lake Training Group for tour guiding. Part of his training
included being sent to Rockhampton to the Dreamtime Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Here he gained hands on experience in Aboriginal tour guiding.
He also became very interested in the history of Aboriginal people.
Harold was shy and had very little confidence but the training helped him overcome these obstacles. It was about this time he reunited with
Noeline almost 17 years after they split. He told me he really believes in the saying "If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you it's
yours if it doesn't it never was".
Harold now helps train new tour guides along with his regular duties. The best part of the job for him is "communicating with people explaining the
history of what has happened to Aboriginal people".
His wish for people everywhere is that "each and everyone find peace within themselves by knowing who they are".
If you'd like to know more you'll have to pay Harold a visit at Umbarra Cultural Centre - see 'Amazing Places'.
By Melissa Barnes
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