WORIMI elder Aunty Pat Davis-Hurst AO, AM, passed away on Saturday night, after suffering from a recent serious stroke.
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Author of Sunrise Station and Sunrise Station Revisited, Aunty Pat was a well known Aboriginal elder, not just locally but throughout the country.
Patricia Davis-Hurst was born in a humpy on Sunrise Station, later known as Purfleet Mission and received a limited education in the mission school.
In her book Sunrise Station Revisited, Pat described her early years on Sunrise Station as difficult.
"Life could seem pretty good when you are a child. Then as I grew older, I realised that some things were happening that I didn't understand. Aboriginal people were not allowed to leave the mission... The people had to sign a book to leave the mission and sign in again on their return. Our parents lived in fear that the welfare would come and take the children away." (Sunrise Station Revisited pg 56).
In 1975 Aunty Pat was employed by the NSW Department of Health as an Aboriginal health worker at the Purfleet Baby Health Clinic. This was the beginning of a long career as a health worker, teacher and human rights activist for Aboriginal people.
During her time as an health worker in the 1970s, Pat saw a strong need for a comprehensive Aboriginal Health Service and was instrumental in founding the Gillawarra Aboriginal Medical Centre in 1980 and later the Wonnai Aboriginal Corporation.
In 1984 Pat worked from home so she could nurse her daughter, who later died from cancer aged 17.
Pat held a large number of voluntary positions throughout her professional life, including director of the Redfern Aboriginal Legal Service, president of the Purfleet Ladies Auxiliary, and board member of the Housing Commission of NSW. In addition to her community work, Pat and her husband Ray raised a large family. They had six children of their own and adopted two of Pat's half-sisters from 12 months old.
In 1993 Pat was awarded as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of service to the Aboriginal people of the Manning Valley. In 2003 Pat received an honorary doctorate by the University of Newcastle for her lifetime of dedication to the promotion of justice for her people.
In 2006 Pat was given the honour of becoming an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her service to the broader community, through promoting awareness of reconciliation, Indigenous culture and history, and land rights; and for advising, assisting and mentoring Indigenous people.
Aunty Pat's funeral will be held next Tuesday, April 30 at St John's Anglican Church Taree, from 11am.
