As the focus of this chapter is on the importance of preparing teachers to deliver on the promise of education for Indigenous students I will provide a brief reflection of my own journey in education, from the beginning, to show it can be done.

I remember myself and my fear on that first day of school. I remember the feeling of abandonment I experienced as my mother walked away and left me there – a sobbing mess. And, I remember the teacher coming and sitting down beside me on the bench, putting her arm around me and using my handkerchief (in those days we all wore a handkerchief pinned on our shirt or dress) to mop up my face while she quietly talked to me about the books I could look at when I came into the classroom. I was easily seduced. But my abiding memory of that day was of a person who was kind, who wasn’t about to leave me to wallow in my own misery but who also knew how to capture my interest as a learner. Entering that room was, for me, akin to stepping into an Aladdin’s cave of treasures. I was captivated then and I remain captivated.

I was born and raised in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and graduated as a primary teacher in 1962. I have been fortunate in being able to be take advantage of some unique and incredible opportunities, teaching in many different learning environments, from pre-school through to university, both in Australia and overseas. It would be fair to say that my experiences as a teacher, dealing with cultural and language diversity in my classrooms on Christmas Island, at Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) and in Saudi Arabia, had a lasting influence on me. Furthermore, I believe those experiences reinforced and enhanced what I had learnt as a child growing up as part of a large extended family spread across various locations from Broome through Derby and out across the stations that straddled the Fitzroy River. ‘Going bush’ with my Granny was where I began to learn about the importance of communication, of really engaging with people.