When I was a child, I remember my family spending much time living in tents within bush settings and as children we made our fun from the bush materials. The bush was a place of learning bushcraft, hunting skills and finding foods. We lived in a number of places depending on where we had a work contract for the farming community to do fencing, hay carting or being a general farmhand. I remember the large tents, green in colour, several of them in the middle of bushland. This living with extended family in bush shelters was surviving at a time when we didn’t have a place where we could call our home, no purchased acreage with a house on. Our real home was the vastness of the territory we lived in and moved around on. It was and still is referred to as our kaaleepga or homeland. Where ever we made our fire and shelter on Bindjareb Boodja, we were in our territory and part of the Noongar Nation.
In George’s professional life he has been a primary school teacher, who now works in the health field. He has over many years been an educator in cultural education and cultural awareness. He has lectured in Aboriginal education and Aboriginal health at a tertiary level. George is also a community
resource person in cultural knowledge to local governments, schools, networking agencies, and education students doing assignments. He has been teaching Noongar language for people who have an interest in conversational Noongar. He is on various boards and appreciates that his presence is based on a long time mutual respect for community. George loves going bush and finding time to relax, playing the guitar and spending time with family and friends.