Under a Bilari Tree I Born

Bringing up nine children of your own is a major achievement in itself. Bringing up a further fifteen foster children is truly remarkable …



Alice Bilari Smith had lived in the Pilbara all her life, on stations and in the bush, on government reserves and in towns. As a girl on Rocklea Station she narrowly avoided removal from her family by ‘the Welfare’. Instead, Alice learned to cook and launder, sew and clean; shoe horses, chop wood and milk cows. Her working life on stations continued as a young married woman and she added mustering, dingo scalping, shearers’ assistant and sheep-yard building to her skills.



Alice Bilari Smith also grew up in the ways of her country, hunting, cooking and building in the traditional manner. Some of her children were born in the bush; others in hospital. By the time she had five children of her own she was playing an active role in caring for other Aboriginal children and she initiated the establishment of a Homemakers Centre in Roebourne.



Both a remarkable life and a typical life, Alice’s story is insightful and inspiring.