Isabel Flick

Isabel Ann Flick OBE(1928-2002) was an Australian Aboriginal rights activist, social worker and teacher. She was recognized as a leader not only of the Aboriginal community of Australia, but as a spokesperson for environmental issues in her hometown of Collarenebri, in New South Wales. She was known as a powerful and inspirational speaker. Isabel Flick is said to have had “many lives” because of her many experiences.

Early years

Isabel Flick’s father was Mick Flick, who was born in the 1890s and grew up in the Aboriginal community in Miambla. His mother died very young so he was brought up by his grandmother. Mick Flick joined the Australian army in 1914 after running away from his job. As he was too young to enlist he lied about his age, and as Aboriginals did not have birth certificates he was accepted into the army. He was sent to the Western Front only six weeks after signing up. He fought in the Somme Valley but was injured twice and so sent to a hospital in England. On his return home from the war, Mick Flick met Celia Clevens and they were married. Celia Clevens grew up in the Aboriginal community of Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. They moved to the town of Collarenebri where they lived for a few years. Mick Flick worked on a farm and Celia lived at home and worked at their families station. The police constantly monitored their whereabouts so they needed to move from time to time to avoid being separated from each other. This was a common strategy amongst Aboriginal communities at the time as the government monitored their activities.

Isabel Flick was born in 1928 in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia . She then moved and grew up in an Aboriginal riverbank camp in the town of Collarenebri in northwestern New South Wales, on the bank of the Barwon River. This town was seen as a border between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, as Aboriginals would experience hostility from the non-Aboriginal population when going into the main street. The Flick family moved around a lot, just as Mick and Celia Flick had, as a way of “keeping away from the system"imposed by the government in Australia. Both of Flick’s parents feared their children being taken away from them. Isabel Flick was always known for making trouble as a child, although she was a shy girl. She was known for being an encouraging and moving person when she spoke. At the age of 10 she was barred from formal education and even threatened with removal by the Protection Board. This was done in accordance with the ‘Dog Act’. This sparked her campaign for Aboriginal rights from her experience with such discrimination and mistreatment.

Toomelah Mission

In 1938 Flick along with her cousins, Florrie and Bob were moved away from their parents to live with their grandmother at the Toomelah Mission in inland New South Wales. Tin camps were built for them to live in here. This was a very controlled time in all of their lives. Permission was needed for everything, and arrangements were always made, such as attending Sunday school and church services. If something wasn’t up to adequate standards at the house they lived in, or they didn’t act in the desired way then the Matron had the right to correct it.Although this was a very organized and often restricted time in Flick’s life, it was where she learnt to read and write, and where she received an education although it was only up to a present-day year 3’s education. It was here where the government wanted the aboriginal children to assimilate into ‘white society’. Flick’s parents would often come to visit her but this was not done very often, and usually not together. Her father was only allowed to stay for one hour and she was only allowed one visitor at a time. Flick began to realise how Aboriginals had very limited rights and it was here she witnessed her first activist meeting. She returned home from the Toomelah Mission to Collarenebri to her mother and her father in 1942 wanting to make positive changes to her community.

Teenage and adult years

As a teenager, Flick began to become fed up with the rudeness that always occurred towards Aboriginals in social situations. She remembers clearly an instance where people attending a Slim Dusty concert who were not Aboriginals, held their noses as she and two of her Aboriginal friends walked past. She was always careful about what she said, as she didn’t want to ‘rock the boat’ but she knew that those kinds of things should not occur. There were many other occurrences such as this where she was discriminated against, and not allowed to be in certain areas or experience the same things the ‘white’ population could. Another example was where Flick was in a café and the server refused to take her order because they didn’t serve people of ‘her kind’. Today it is recognized the discrimination that occurred, but at the time it was the normal practice of non-Aboriginal society.

By 1950, Flick’s focus had changed from her teenage years to her role as an adult. In 1949 she gave birth to a boy Ben, with partner Aud. She also had her work to worry about. She worked on pastoral stations with her family, with shearing contracts her father had organized for her.For the first few years of Ben’s life he stayed with his grandfather, Flick’s father. At seven, he was sent to school. Flick later had many more children with Aud.

It was still a very difficult time for Flick during these years, as the police were always aware of Aboriginals and monitored there whereabouts and activities. If one were found to be drunk they would instantly be taken away. They could be checked at any time even if they were getting changed or in the bathtub for example. Never would they check if it was suitable for them to enter. It was also a difficult time as disease was spreading. One of her family members had picked a disease up and from a fear of it spreading; the government had put their entire village in quarantine. Eventually the disease passed and they were all able to return to their normal life of work once again.

Aboriginal Activism

Due to her experience with racism in rural Australia and the various camps she attended, she spent her life wanting more for Aboriginals. Her first experience of speaking out publicly against such racism was at a ‘Liberty Picture Show’ in 1961 in Collarenebri. The 1960s were a difficult time for her and the Aboriginal community due to a lack of employment opportunities causing economic distress, but it was during this decade that she felt growing confidence to speak out about the issues she was experiencing and the racism of her town. She challenged the seating arrangements arguing that “our money is as good as anyone else's and we want to sit where we want to sit". Aboriginals were typically roped off at an area at the front of the screen. Picture shows were typically the most recent places to isolate Aboriginals from the ‘white population’ and this caused significant humiliation for them. She experienced segregation and discrimination in not only these picture shows, but in education, health, employment and even before the law. Her radical acts are said to have inspired the 1965 Freedom Ride in rural Australia. She was at first embarrassed to outwardly discuss racism but her confidence grew over time. She soon was known on the political stage. Although her efforts were directed at the non-Aboriginal community at their treatment of Aboriginals, she was not afraid to speak openly about justice and unequal treatment to her own community and people as well.

Racism was something not only Flick experienced, for her son Ben experienced this at school and Flick would never put up with this for him. She “lost it” when he got hit across the hand with a ruler by a non-Aboriginal teacher during a school lesson. This then led the Parent and Citizens Association at the school to draw on Flick’s knowledge and skill. They lobbied with Flick to the Department of Education for better education standards and facilities to learn in. It is ironic how Flick was not allowed to enter this school in 1938, however was now a spokesperson on their behalf.

The Australian political scene was changing for Aboriginals in the 1960s, with the Federal electoral laws changing in 1961 to allow Aboriginals to vote in national elections. In 1965, the Parliamentary Committee came to Collarenebri, after the Freedom Ride passed through. It was then that Isabel Flick met politicians and discussed Aboriginal living conditions and the way they were treated by the police. Henry Denyer was the man who encouraged Isabel to speak to these politicians and become an active member on the Collarenebri Muni community. Flick then later began to discuss the importance of protecting women and children from family violence as this was deeply rooted in her community and family experiences in Collarenebri.

Move to Sydney

Isabel Flick left Collarenebri in 1972 and moved to Sydney. She was concerned of her children’s education in Collarenebri, believing that the schools in the area were not sufficient in educating older children. Ben was now independent and had a successful regional football career with Narrabi Football Club and then Bathurst Football Club, and Larry was working but wanted to stay home in Collarenebri. Flick hoped moving to the city would benefit her other children; Tony, Brenda, Amy and Aub. When they first moved they struggled to find accommodation camping with family and friends in Bridge Road, Glebe. Soon though the family moved to 102 Johnston Street, Annandale.

Flick worked at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital during this time. She felt a sense of ‘release’ from her move, as it was a new beginning for her. The family didn’t experience hostility, as much in the city and this was really refreshing for her. During her time in Sydney she became more involved in Aboriginal activist groups, in the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs, in South Sydney Community Aid and the Tent Embassy.

During the year of 1977 Flick’s health deteriorated as she struggled to make a substantial income for her family who still lived in their Annandale home. To relax, she would smoke which was deteriorating her health further. She started to realise that smoking was aggravating her hypertension and chest infections but she still found it was too difficult to give up smoking at this time due to the environment she was in and her addiction. She resigned from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and became a health worker in the Aboriginal Health Unit in the NSW Department of Health. During this time her work increased with Aboriginal Land Rights and the Tent Embassy as well.

Later life

She returned to her hometown of Collarenebri in 1978 where her fellow Aboriginal community recognized her political experience and courage, and even non-Aboriginal people of her town acknowledged her as well. Her relationship with Aud had ended before she returned and so now was a completely independent woman. She was ready to initiate change. Her popularity was proved when was chosen by both Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals to be the spokesperson of their town. From her time in Sydney she had a vast amount of resources and connections, which allowed her to implement special initiatives in her town. She was able to negotiate well and deal with various egos, which made her easy to work with.

On her return home she also entered into a relationship with childhood friend, Ted Thorne. The two had always been friends and they now were happy together. Segregation still was present in Collarenebri, but it was definitely a different place to when Flick first lived there. Flick lobbied for fairness and equality in this region and also for a fairer system with housing, health and education. Aboriginal employment was a major win for Flick as it meant Aboriginals were given the opportunity to be in the workforce with the white population.

Throughout the 1980s she fought a difficult battle with her sister Rose Flick, to protect the carved trees at the Bora Ground site in Collymongle, northern New South Wales which was a sacred part of their Aboriginal community. These carved trees are a special part of Australian Aboriginal history and she wanted to preserve these for future generations.

In 1996 Flick travelled to Sydney to teach Aboriginal history at the Tranby Cooperative Aboriginal College in Glebe. She was on the Board of Directors at this College and thoroughly enjoyed teaching Aboriginal history. She enjoyed giving back to her community and mentoring students. This was after her surgery of December 1995. At this time she also moved away from Collarenebri to Gunnedeh with her partner Ted, still being involved with her activist work especially with the Land Council.

Death and legacy

In her final years Flick developed lung cancer due to many years of smoking. She had chemotherapy and her family cared for her until she died on 16 February 2002.

For her service to the community, Isabel Ann Flick was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1986. She was then honoured by the Tranby Aboriginal Cooperative College in which she taught at and by her community in 1993, and then again at her death in 2000. Also at her death, her family received condolences from the Premier of New South Wales and the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, proving her contribution to the Australian Aboriginal community.