Every year Rebecca’s family comes together to celebrate Christmas and remember their cherished Nan, placing the brightest star on the Christmas Tree in her memory. Rebecca’s Nan, a proud First Nations woman, was a strong influence when Rebecca was growing up - and continues to inspire her, and her commitment to equality and reconciliation for First Nations people.

A team member with HammondCare for 13 years, Rebecca’s love for her Nan and her personal story led her to join HammondCare’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) working group and DSA’s First Nations working group. 

Rebecca shares her HammondCare journey, and how her Nan still inspires her, every day: 

Starting with HammondCare

My first contact with HammondCare was back in 1995, when I volunteered at Hammondville. I was still in high school. I would help serve lunch, brush female residents’ hair, or paint their nails. Sometimes I’d read books to them, too.

My first paid job with HammondCare was as a community care worker, for the Southeast Sydney HammondCare At Home team. By then I'd developed a deep connection with older people; I knew this was the path I wanted to follow.

It was through working in aged care that I became interested in learning more about people living with dementia; I wanted to gain knowledge about how they could be best cared for, how we could improve their quality of life. So, while my two sons were still young, I enrolled at university and studied to become a registered nurse. 

My current role as National Triage Manager involves a fair bit of travel, but my base is at HammondCare Hammondville, close to home, and where I first started my career journey. I don’t ever see myself leaving such an amazing organisation, where we strive every day to deliver on improving the quality of life for those in need.

Generations of connection at Hammondville

There has been a continuing relationship for my family with HammondCare Hammondville: three of my four grandparents were residents for a time, including Nan. She started volunteering here before she became a resident, already in her 80s by then. 

Nan decided to leave her own home to become a resident, at the age of 87. I was working here as well, so we enjoyed seeing each other all the time. 

Sadly, Nan died in 2018, at the age of 92.

A legacy of resilience

Nan was my maternal grandmother. She identified as a First Nation person, originally from Narrabri in western NSW.  The matriarch of a big family, when Nan died, she had 20 great grandchildren. I always looked up to her. Nan was a great communicator. She would write to all her grandchildren – I still have her letters. 

She also wrote about her life to share with us, memories from age four – growing up identifying as an Indigenous Australian was something she was proud of, but she once mentioned to me, not quite black or white.

In those days Indigenous Australians needed a pass to leave the community and were forced to walk on the other side of the road. There was a lot of racism and segregation back then, for example, hospitals had their own designated section for Indigenous patients – where things like towels and cutlery were supplied separately from the main hospital. 

Now Nan’s no longer here, I’m passionate about following in her footsteps, to right the wrongs of many of my family’s experiences and be a part of the reconciliation process.

I’m proud of my heritage and culture. I am constantly amazed by the rich history of my people. Nan and I had a special connection; she is and always will be my person.