Chasing a dream: Sloane Stallan’s reunion story
My name is Sloane Stallan. I am an Ugarapul man from the Ipswich Region. When I was growing up, I was told that my grandfather was George Carbine. I didn’t know anything else besides his name. I didn’t feel connected to a name.
I started working for Link-Up (Qld) and began to understand the importance of connecting with family. I began to appreciate what connecting to family was about. I started to learn that knowing about a name wasn’t just knowing but creating your own identity.
I had a dream for three consecutive nights. This dream came to me in cartoon form. I would find myself walking behind this old man and his dingo. Each step the old man took, he would look behind and say, “you need to take me home.” Every time I closed my eyes, I would see the old man and his dingo. That dream never left me. I became a Link-Up (Qld) client. My journey had begun.
While I was studying at Gallang Place, I met another student who was from Woorabinda. They told me about a family that was still in Woorabinda, the Carbine family. I took my children and mother for a trip to meet them. We met up with them. My mum is the eldest and they called her tribal aunty.
In 2020, the research completed by Link-Up (Qld), was delivered to me by Joshua Williams, Daniel Houtman and Lauren Scheiwe. There was a lot information in the research, and I was surprised with the family connections that were made. That name and resting place had a story. A graveside reunion was planned. This took me a few weeks for the information to process. It was starting to sink in, that the dream that I had been having was about to be fulfilled.
The day of the reunion came, I met Joshua Williams and Joshua Thompson Link-Up (Qld) staff at the Brisbane airport. I was with my cousin Colin Graham who came along for support. We flew into the Roma airport at night. I wasn’t comfortable flying at night but was supported by my cousin Colin Graham, Joshua Williams, and Joshua Thompson. Landing in Roma, the weather was hot and there were a lot of flies that followed us around for the next three days.
My reunion was to go to the Mitchell Cemetery for a Graveside Reunion. The night before, I was thinking a lot about what was going to happen. I had questions going around in my head. I wondered what was going to happen and what it was going to look like. Colin and I spoke about the effects of generational healing and the story behind the reunion.
The next morning, I woke up and realised the moment I had been waiting for had arrived. I was getting nervous as we drove out to the cemetery. This took about an hour. Joshua Williams told me the unmarked grave was marked with a steel picket and a ribbon. I left the car and walked to the grave. I took a deep breath and said, “you are home”. A peace fell over me as I stood there besides the grave, I was speechless. I lay my hands on the dirt and asked God “to take him home”. I knew then that the dream had been fulfilled.
I wanted to say goodbye in Gunggari language, so I wrote a prayer and put a piece of my grandmother’s grave in a glass jar and left it there with my grandfather.
(Nagid) Grandfather I am here (Yilanggu Ngiya),
God listens to me (Beer-an-ool-ah nah-din-ah yim-bah-nah),
I have come here (Gun-ah-la) to bring back (Burr-goo) him home, that his spirit (Bee-yul-bee-wal) be free.
Goodbye (Noo-lah nah-gah-lah) Peace is with you (Yan-tel-our-oo) as you return to the Sky (Bun-dah).
I want to thank Patricia Thompson (CEO) for allowing the reunion to happen. I want to thank the LinkUp (Qld) staff – Joshua Williams and Joshua Thompson for taking my cousin and I to Mitchell and Lauren Scheiwe for doing the research.
Sloane Stallan
Published April 2020.