Molly Kelly, whose childhood trek across 1,000 miles of the Australian desert to return to her Aboriginal mother inspired the 2002 movie ''Rabbit-Proof Fence,'' died on Tuesday at her home in Jigalong in Western Australia, her family said. She was thought to be 87.
Ms. Kelly was about 13 when she, her little sister and a cousin made the nine-week journey with little food or water. When her story came out decades later, she became a symbol of the resilience of Aborigines in the face of mistreatment by Australia's European settlers.
In 1931, Ms. Kelly was taken from her mother and sent to a government institution to be trained as a domestic servant along with her sister and cousin.
Thousands of such forced separations created what are now known as Australia's ''stolen generations.'' The policy aimed at assimilating Aborigines into mainstream society began in 1905 and continued until 1971.
The three girls immediately fled the institution. Ms. Kelly decided that since Jigalong was on a rabbit-proof fence -- intended to stop the spread of imported rabbits -- they could follow it north to their home.
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They crossed a flooded river, sand dunes, a desert and a salt lake. They slept in hollowed-out rabbit burrows and ate sweet potatoes and wild bananas. Nine weeks after they began, they made it home.
''She was a person that was utterly willful, who decided she would not be dictated to, took on the whole state apparatus and managed to
win,'' said Christine Olsen, the screenwriter of the film.
Ms. Kelly's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara, learned of the story and wrote it down only after she was reunited with her mother more than 20 years after she also was taken away by authorities.
While many members of the ''stolen generations'' have reunited with their families, some will never know their real relatives. The Australian government has not formally apologized for the policy.
Philip Noyce, the film's director, plans to return to Jigalong to pay his respects, The Australian Associated Press reported Thursday.
Molly Kelly, 87, Australian Aborigine Who Walked 1,000 Miles to Her Home
By The Associated Press
Jan. 16, 2004
Molly Kelly, whose childhood trek across 1,000 miles of the Australian desert to return to her Aboriginal mother inspired the 2002 movie ''Rabbit-Proof Fence,'' died on Tuesday at her home in Jigalong in Western Australia, her family said. She was thought to be 87.
Ms. Kelly was about 13 when she, her little sister and a cousin made the nine-week journey with little food or water. When her story came out decades later, she became a symbol of the resilience of Aborigines in the face of mistreatment by Australia's European settlers.
In 1931, Ms. Kelly was taken from her mother and sent to a government institution to be trained as a domestic servant along with her sister and cousin.
Thousands of such forced separations created what are now known as Australia's ''stolen generations.'' The policy aimed at assimilating Aborigines into mainstream society began in 1905 and continued until 1971.
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Continue reading the main story
The three girls immediately fled the institution. Ms. Kelly decided that since Jigalong was on a rabbit-proof fence -- intended to stop the spread of imported rabbits -- they could follow it north to their home.
They crossed a flooded river, sand dunes, a desert and a salt lake. They slept in hollowed-out rabbit burrows and ate sweet potatoes and wild bananas. Nine weeks after they began, they made it home.
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''She was a person that was utterly willful, who decided she would not be dictated to, took on the whole state apparatus and managed to win,'' said Christine Olsen, the screenwriter of the film.
Ms. Kelly's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara, learned of the story and wrote it down only after she was reunited with her mother more than 20 years after she also was taken away by authorities.
While many members of the ''stolen generations'' have reunited with their families, some will never know their real relatives. The Australian government has not formally apologized for the policy.
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Continue reading the main story
Philip Noyce, the film's director, plans to return to Jigalong to pay his respects, The Australian Associated Press reported Thursday.
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