Michael Young

Michael Young – recorded on 18-19 April 2018 / Redcliffs, VIC.

Michael Young is a Paakantji man and a councillor for the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area Aboriginal Advisory Committee. Over two interviews he speaks about his ancestors, including his great-great grandmother Nellie Johnson - a skilled canoeist who ferried people across the Darling River in South Western NSW in a bark canoe in the late 1890s. The canoe and archival photograph are now in the South Australian Museum. Michael recalled first hearing about Mungo Man and Mungo Lady from his aunts’ stories (Patricia Johnson). Michael also speaks about moving to Canberra in 2016 to study his Paakantji history and then to Victoria where he reconnected with his mother’s family and their stories, and became involved in the repatriation of Mungo Man.

This interview was part of a collaboration between Louise Darmody and the State Library of New South Wales. The interviews were conducted by Louise Darmody, journalist, oral historian, producer, and founder of Sound Memories an oral history and documentary-making firm established in 2003.

These oral history recordings document the personal stories behind the Mungo Man historic repatriation process which took place on the 16-19th November 2017. After 43 years the Traditional Custodians brought Mungo Man and other internationally significant ancestral remains home to Mungo National Park within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage area in New South Wales.

The full catalogue record is online at http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110616130

Part of this interview has been transcribed and is available on Amplify at:
https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Michael_Young_interview_1_180418

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Michael_Young_interview_2_180418

https://amplify.gov.au/transcripts/Michael_Young_interview_3_180419