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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001116A
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00:06 There are over 200 million rabbits in Australia today.
00:08 That's more than 10 times the number of people that live here. 00:12 Now that sounds like a lot of rabbits, but it's only a 00:16 fraction of the population 100 years ago when there were 00:22 10 billion rabbits across the country. And this rabbit proof 00:26 fence, the longest unbroken fence in the world was proposed 00:29 to stop rabbits getting into western Australia from the 00:33 eastern states. The idea was a crazy attempt at control on a 00:39 national scale. It seems ludicrous now to attempt to 00:44 build a fence across an entire nation to keep out rabbits that 00:48 jump very high and burrow under ground. But the attempt was made 00:54 and lots of money was wasted doing it. Similar unwise 00:58 decisions were made to control the futures of aboriginal 01:02 children of mixed descent. Many of us are familiar with the 01:07 story of the Rabbit-Proof Fence. The epic walk that was told in a 01:11 book and a movie of the same name. We generally think of it 01:15 as a tragic story that illustrates the consequences of 01:19 government policy that went wrong and created what Australia 01:24 now refers to as the stolen generation. You may have seen 01:29 the movie but the story is much more than the movie's screen 01:32 play. This is a story about the hope in the hearts of children 01:36 This true story illustrates what can be achieved when we hold 01:41 onto the hope and refuse to lose our dreams to intimidation. 01:45 An epic journey made by three young girls in 1931 challenges 01:50 us today to wonder what we could achieve if we dared to hold onto 01:57 hope and had the faith to step out into the unknown. Come and 02:00 walk with me along the Rabbit-Proof Fence. 02:03 ♪ ♪ 02:29 It was the turn of the century. The 1900s had arrived. They 02:34 Victorian era and the beginning of the Edwardian era. It was an 02:40 exciting time. The period featured of many innovations. 02:44 The first 02:46 transatlantic wire signals were sent by Marconi. And the Wright 02:51 brothers flew for the first time The largest ship in the world 02:56 RMS Olympic had sailed on its maiden voyage. And her sister 03:01 ship, RMS Titanic, was soon to follow. Automobiles were now 03:07 common and the south pole was reached for the first time by 03:12 Roald Amundsen. In Australia this spirit of progress and 03:18 achievement was tarnished by a massive problem, rabbits, 03:23 billions of them. The arrived in Australia with the first fleet 03:27 in 1788 and became a widespread pest. Of the 24 wild rabbits 03:35 released for hunting by an English Farmer, Thomas Austin, 03:38 on his property here at Bollywood Park near Julong, Victoria in 03:43 1859. The rabbits quickly spread through the newly cleared 03:47 farmland and began to migrate across Australia at a rate of 03:52 120 km a year, reproducing at a rate of 18 to 30 per single 03:59 female rabbit per year their numbers exploded. Farmers used 04:04 poison and traps in an effort to exert some control. And 04:09 bounties were offered to professional rabbiters. But 04:12 despite these efforts the rabbits continued to flourish 04:16 in plague proportions and were costing the nation millions of 04:21 dollars in damage to crops and pastures. In 1901 a royal 04:26 commission addressed the rabbit question determining that in 04:31 this age of scientific advancement it must be possible 04:35 to find a solution. They decided that a fence should be 04:41 constructed right across the country to divide pasture land 04:44 from the dry bush lands. The first rabbit proof fence is a 04:49 strange equivalent of the great wall of China traversing the 04:53 vast dusty plains of western Australia from the Southern 04:57 Ocean at Starvation Boat Harbor to 80 Mile Beach north of Port 05:02 Headland, more than 1800 kilometers. It was the longest 05:07 fence in the world and cut Australia into two pieces. At 05:13 times more than 400 men and 300 camels, horses and donkeys were 05:19 engaged in constructing the fence. They worked against bush 05:23 fires, droughts, floods and cyclones. Fire would burn the 05:27 wooden posts in places. Netting beneath the ground would be 05:32 eaten through while sections of the fence were buried by sand 05:36 drifts. So the government employed boundary riders to 05:40 maintain the fence. Boundary riders worked the fence in pairs 05:45 patrolling up and down a stretch of more than 200 km and worked 05:51 on repairing sections of the fence damaged by fire or other 05:56 animals and the boundary riders also formed relationships with 06:01 aboriginal women. Children from these relationships were called 06:07 half casts. The government, believing it was acting in the 06:11 best interest of these children unwisely decided to remove them 06:16 forcibly if necessary, from the aboriginal families and culture 06:21 and sent them to institutions to be raised and educated as 06:27 Europeans and to eradicate their aboriginal identity and culture. 06:32 This forced removal caused great trauma and distress to the 06:37 children and their families. These children became known as 06:42 the stolen generation. By 1927 following wartime shortages and 06:49 labor supplies the fence was in disrepair. In 1930 there were 06:55 calls for it to be torn down. It was then that this broken fence 07:00 symbol of a society that felt its scientific and industrial 07:05 progress could bring order and control to the wilderness of 07:08 nature became the scene for an amazing act of defiance and hope 07:14 and one of the longest walks in the history of the outback. 07:19 Jigalong was established in 1907 as a maintenance and ration 07:28 store for workmen working on the rabbit-proof fence. The store 07:32 also distributed food, rations, clothing, tobacco, and blankets 07:38 to the Madu people who came in from the western desert. With 07:42 a rich history and culture going back many years, the Madu 07:47 were one of the last indigenous populations to come into contact 07:50 with Europeans. In 1917 Molly Craig was born here at Jigalong. 07:56 Molly's mother was Madu, her father was an Englishman who was 08:00 an inspector of the rabbit-proof fence. Her father named her 08:04 Molly after his sister. Molly's half-sister Daisy was born in 08:09 in 1923. In 1931, the government forcibly removed the two girls 08:16 and their cousin Gracie from their families. Molly was 14, 08:20 Gracie 11 and Daisy was only eight years old. The girls were 08:26 taken by car and then by train to Port Headland farther north. 08:30 There they were put on the M.B. Kalinda, a ship bound for 08:35 Freemantle. The journey by sea would take them five days. After 08:41 landing in Freemantle the girls were fascinated and bewildered 08:44 by the busy city with its cars, trains and crowds of people. 08:50 It was such a contrast to their desert home surroundings. They 08:56 remember stopping here at Morcumba and the matron coming 08:59 inside this hotel and then bringing them sandwiches and 09:03 lemonade. And they stopped at Moriver settlement This is the 09:10 site of the Moriver settlement Today it's in ruins, but when it 09:16 was opened in 1918, one year after Molly was born, it was 09:21 designed by the west Australian government to be a small self 09:25 supporting farming settlement for about 200 aboriginal people 09:30 with a school and a health clinic. But the land wasn't good 09:34 for farming and so in the 1920s its purpose was shifted. 09:42 Residents were usually brought here against their will as the 09:45 camp attempted to be an orphanage, crash, relief depot 09:50 and home for old persons and unmarried mothers and the unwell 09:54 The camp being adequately staffed funded to provide any decent 09:58 services at all. Many aboriginal children of mixed descent then 10:05 called half casts were brought here usually against their will 10:09 as well. Moriver settlement was under the control of Mr. Nevell 10:14 the West Australian Protector of Aborigines. He had the power 10:20 to remove any half cast child from their family from anywhere 10:25 within the state. Molly, Gracie and Daisy arrived here on the 10:29 1st of August 1931 after traveling more than a week and 10:34 over 1600 km. Forced to sleep indoors and follow a strict 10:42 daily schedule was foreign to the girls who were accustomed 10:45 to a life of freedom in the great open spaces of the outback 10:51 They were restless. They longed for the red sand of the desert 10:54 the starry sky at night, the warmth of the campfire and the 10:59 security of their family. They longed for home. The three girls 11:05 spent only two nights in the cramped conditions of Moriver 11:10 before Molly decided that she was going home. And so with hope 11:15 in their hearts and a deep longing for their family and 11:19 land the girls set out on an epic 1600 km journey along the 11:25 rabbit-proof fence. They were going home. The first night 11:32 after their escape the girls dug into an empty rabbit burrow 11:37 and slept dry and warm surrounded by ironically rabbits 11:41 In the morning, they awoke to rabbits jumping all around them. 11:46 But they had no matches so couldn't cook any to eat. On the 11:51 second day they were given a box of matches by two Madu stockmen 11:56 they met so were able to catch and cook rabbits for their 12:01 dinner. On the third day the girls were walking in the rain, 12:09 tired, cold and hungry. They left their coats behind so that 12:15 they could walk faster. They heard chickens and stumbled into 12:19 the yard of a homestead. Molly sent Gracie and Daisy up to the 12:25 house to ask for food. The farmers wife, Mrs. Flanaghan, 12:29 invited them inside but the girls were scared so she assured 12:35 them that she wouldn't report them. She gave them a meal of 12:38 sandwiches with big slices of mutton and tomato chutney, big 12:44 slices of fruit cake and sweet milky tea. Mrs. Flanaghan wanted 12:49 to know where the girls planned to go. Molly owned up to her 12:53 plan to walk around the rabbit-proof fence. 12:56 It was then that Molly 12:57 learned that they were walking in the wrong direction. Mrs. 13:02 Flanagan gave them directions to the fence. Then she packed 13:06 bags with flour, sugar, salt, tea leaves, fruit cake, half a 13:12 leg of mutton, bread, matches and billy tins for cooking. She 13:16 also gave them warm army coats before sending the girls on 13:22 their way. After the girls left with their supplies, she sent a 13:26 message by the telephone exchange that she had seen the 13:32 the girls and she was worried that they might die walking 13:34 alone in the desert. Many more farm houses and stockmen showed 13:39 kindness to the girls like Mrs. Flanaghan. The girls also hunted 13:44 small animals and found drinking water. They survived the long 13:49 walk due to the bush craft skills taught to them by their 13:52 mothers, aunties and uncles and the kindness of strangers that 13:57 they met along the way. On average the girls had to walk 14:03 about 30 km each day. After walking 800 km from Moriver 14:10 settlement they finally reached the rabbit-proof fence. Now 14:15 let's put that 800 km into context. It's farther than the 14:19 distance between Newcastle and Brisbane on the east coast of 14:24 Australia. It's about the distance that you might drive 14:27 on the Hugh Highway between Melbourne and the outskirts of 14:32 Sydney. It's longer than the distance between New York City 14:35 in America and Quebec City in Canada. And when the girls 14:40 reached the rabbit-proof fence they were only halfway along the 14:46 journey. Scratches on their legs from the sharp bush became 14:50 infected, so Molly and Gracie took turns in carrying Daisy and 14:56 Molly sometimes helped Gracie as well. They were cold, hungry and 15:02 exhausted. But their longing for home and the hope in their 15:06 hearts drove them on. The girls were being pursued by the police 15:13 under instructions from Mr. Nevell. Each day that the police 15:19 spent looking for the girls was charged as a service fee to Mr. 15:26 Nevells office. As the girls got farther north the costs of the 15:28 chase were mounting. The local newspapers kept up a commentary 15:33 on the failure to locate the girls causing Mr. Nevell great 15:38 embarrassment. The girls walked on largely oblivious to the fuss 15:43 they were causing. Molly was focused on the goal of getting 15:47 home and was very careful to hide when necessary and to only 15:52 approach those people she felt she could trust. At one point 15:56 the tree girls hid up a tree to avoid being seen by a small 16:00 plane flying low to search for them. The girls had barely 16:06 enough to eat and grew thin and weak. A few weeks away from 16:11 Jigalong Gracie was told by a stockman that her mother had 16:15 moved to another station, so Gracie left Molly and Daisy to 16:20 catch a train to try to find her mother. Gracie wasn't successful 16:24 as the authorities found her and returned her to Moriver. After 16:31 nine weeks of walking 1600 km Molly and Daisy finally arrived 16:37 Jigalong and were reunited with their families. Their journey 16:41 was the equivalent of walking from one end of New Zealand to 16:45 the other. The day after Molly and Daisy were reunited with 16:49 their families here in Jigalong everyone moved camp deep into 16:53 the bush. Official records contained correspondence that 16:58 the girls were occasionally sighted but basically they went 17:02 into hiding with their families for many years. Four years after 17:11 Molly and Gracie and Daisy escaped the Mosely Royal 17:14 Commission 17:16 visited Moriver Settlement and were horrified by the dirty, 17:25 that the Moriver Settlement be closed and that Mr. Nevell, the 17:30 Protector of Aborigines and Western Australia be sacked. 17:34 But Mr. Nevell 17:36 continued to blame his problems on the lack of money 17:40 provided by the government and he remained in his position 17:44 until he retired. The Moriver settlement remained open. Nine 17:51 years after their escape Molly was taken to Moriver again 17:55 after surgery for appendicitis. Now a married woman with two 18:00 young daughters Molly spent 12 months in Moriver before 18:05 deciding to leave. She made the walk back to Jigalong a second 18:12 time carrying her 18-month-old baby all the way. Molly's older 18:17 daughter Doris had to remain. Doris was educated here at 18:22 Moriver and became a nurse. She didn't see her mother until 18:27 she was an adult. Molly's youngest daughter was taken from 18:32 her when the girl was four years old. She was told she was an 18:36 an orphan and was adopted. Molly never saw her baby girl again. 18:42 And what about Daisy? Well she hid in the desert with her 18:48 family until she was an adult. Following the trauma of her 18:52 early years, Daisy found peace in the promises of the Bible, 18:58 accepted Jesus and became a Christian. Then she worked as a 19:02 housemaid in various stations in the district. She married and 19:06 had four children. After her husband died, she wanted her 19:10 children to have a Christian education and so moved here to 19:15 Karalundi Mission and School. Her children attended the school 19:19 here finally able to freely attend an independent school for 19:25 aboriginal children. Daisy worked as a cook and housekeeper 19:29 and was active in the church community. When she retired 19:34 Daisy returned to Jigalong and moved into a house next to Molly 19:39 Today Jigalong is an aboriginal community. The land was returned 19:44 to the Madu people in 1974. It has a community school, shops 19:51 and a medical clinic. The construction of the 19:55 rabbit-proof fence 19:56 is typical of a European concept of ownership. Laying out a 20:01 boundary, marking one's territory, pegging out a corner 20:05 or staking a claim. This is so very different from an 20:11 aboriginal concept of ownership. The fences that are influential 20:14 in aboriginal community are social and cultural seen in the 20:19 light of relationships, social obligations and sacred places. 20:24 The story of Molly, Gracie and Daisy's epic walk illustrates 20:30 the importance of hope, the power of relationship and the 20:34 meaning of home. Molly's home and family was so vitally 20:39 important to her that she held onto her dream of going home 20:43 with hope and determination. Refusing to be intimidated by 20:48 those who wanted to control her future. Sadly throughout history 20:54 unscrupulous leaders have subjugated and uprooted 20:58 innocent people and defenseless nations in an attempt to control 21:02 them. But it doesn't necessarily mean the end. There is still 21:07 For example, in the Bible Jeremiah chapter 29 is a letter 21:14 to a community in exile. They'd been uprooted and taken from 21:19 their homes. They were in a strange land, a foreign land. 21:26 The letter carries an encouraging message about 21:28 holding onto hope and refusing to be intimidated by those 21:33 abusing their power. In the letter, God speaks through the 21:38 prophet Jeremiah to exiles living in Babylon almost 600 21:42 years before Jesus' birth. The recipients of the letter had 21:47 just lived through a horror similar to that experienced by 21:51 many indigenous families during the time when their children 21:54 were forcibly removed and placed in state institutions. 21:58 Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army had just invaded Judah capturing 22:06 thousands of people taking them from their homes and deporting 22:08 them to Babylon. This letter was written to people in incredible 22:13 pain, more than most of us will ever experience. They were 22:18 mourning death, their children had been stolen, they were 22:22 experiencing a forced move and a transition to a strange land 22:26 and a foreign culture. And yet into that tragic situation God 22:32 can still speak words of hope. Listen, here's God's, promise to 22:38 people who feel they're in a hopeless situation. Here's what 22:42 he says to the dispossessed and downtrodden in Jeremiah chapter 22:47 29 verses 10 and 11: 23:07 God has a special message for those who have been dispossessed 23:12 He has a special message for those who have been uprooted 23:16 from their homes and taken to a strange land, a foreign land and 23:21 the message is no matter what has happened in the past, no 23:26 matter how dark the situation may seem to you, God is in 23:30 control. You have not been forgotten. God cares about every 23:36 intricate detail in your life. God has a plan for your life. 23:40 He will bring you peace and give you a future that is filled with 23:45 hope. But that's not all. Listen as we read further in Jeremiah 23:49 chapter 29: 24:09 What a wonderful promise from God. He promises to bring us 24:15 back from captivity. You may be held captive by fear, loss, 24:20 substance abuse, guilt or a broken relationship. God is 24:25 saying trust me. I have everything under control. 24:29 The situation may not be good but I know what I'm doing. 24:34 I have your best interest in mind. I will bring you back. 24:39 God promises hope to any community that has lost almost 24:44 everything. He promises hope to every individual who has 24:49 experienced loss. And it was this hope that Molly and Daisy 24:53 found. It was this hope that took them home and gave them 24:57 peace in later life. They discovered that they had not 25:01 been forgotten and that God did have a plan for their lives. 25:05 They accepted Jesus as their Savior and found true peace and 25:10 hope for the future, hope for this life and beyond. If you've 25:16 been held captive by fear, loss substance abuse or a broken 25:22 relationship and would like to experience this peace and hope 25:25 why not ask for it right now as we pray. 25:29 Dear Heavenly Father, the story of Molly, Gracie and Daisy is 25:36 both heartbreaking and inspiring We thank you for being a God of 25:40 love who cares for each one of us. It's reassuring to know that 25:45 you have a good plan for our lives. We are grateful that 25:49 whatever difficulty and challenge we may be facing you 25:53 are working good in all of it. And so today we step forward 25:58 in faith and hope trusting you in all things and seeking to 26:03 cooperate fully with your plans for us. Thank you for giving us 26:08 peace for today and hope for tomorrow. 26:11 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 26:16 If you are facing challenges in your life and would like to find 26:22 peace today and hope for the future, I'd like to tell you 26:26 about the free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's an 26:31 inspiring booklet called Seeing Through God's Eyes. This book 26:37 shares the secret of finding true happiness in our lives. It 26:41 shows us ways to deal with the challenges we face in everyday 26:44 life and how to find peace and hope. This book is our gift to 26:49 you and is absolutely free. There is no cost or obligation. 26:54 So please don't miss this wonderful opportunity to receive 26:58 the gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 27:02 Phone us now on 0481315101 or text us on 0491222999 or visit 27:17 our website theincrediblejourney.tv 27:21 to request today's free offer. So don't delay. Contact us right 27:27 now. If you've enjoyed today's journey be sure to join us again 27:33 next week when we will share another of life's journeys 27:37 together and experience another new and thought provoking 27:41 perspective on the peace, insight, understanding and hope 27:45 that only the Bible can give us. The Incredible Journey truly is 27:51 television that changes lives. Until next week remember the 27:56 ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven 28:00 and a new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their 28:04 eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. 28:08 There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed 28:13 away. 28:14 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-09-18