A warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers, this report contains the name and image of a person who has died. The life and legacy of Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung elder, Aunty Fay Carter, has been celebrated in a state service. She died aged 89 and is being remembered for her five decades of work supporting and improving the living conditions of Indigenous Australians.
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00:00It's time, aunt, and you're ready. Let you go on your journey. That smoke that's there,
00:12you will follow that smoke back home.
00:16At Bendigo's Alhambra Theatre, meaning gather or meeting place in the local language of
00:21the Dja Dja Wurrung people, a state service to remember a generous leader.
00:26In so many ways, auntie Fifi was the quintessential black matriarch.
00:32Auntie Faye Carter celebrated as a trailblazer in the community.
00:36She was a tireless advocate who dedicated herself to Victoria's Aboriginal communities.
00:45She established the Aboriginal Community Elders Service, the first of its kind in the country,
00:51and also played an instrumental role in reaching a native title settlement agreement, formally
00:56recognising the Dja Dja Wurrung people as the traditional owners of the lands in central
01:00Victoria.
01:01It's hard to believe that all this progress could have been made in the space of just
01:05one lifetime.
01:06A girl born on the verandah of the Echuca Hospital, because Aboriginal people weren't
01:11allowed in there at the time, is now being commemorated at state funeral.
01:16She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Indigenous community five
01:21years ago.
01:23Across Victoria today, flags flew at half-mast as a sign of mourning and respect.
01:28Mother, if the community is your children, you've done so much to nurture them.
01:35I can really only imagine the thousands of Aboriginal young people, families and elders'
01:41lives, who have benefited directly, directly from Aunty Fay's work and leadership.
01:49Those benefits will be felt for generations to come.