![Australian Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) artwork by REGGIE ROBERTSON of Mornington Island Artists. The title is Lightning Headband. [4804-15/25-RR-0909] (Etching - Edition of 25)](https://media.redotgallery.com/stockroom/gallery/l/lightning-headband-1226-SMALL.jpg)
REGGIE ROBERTSON
Lightning Headband
"My parents were brought to Mornington Island by the government of the day.
I was born at the mission, many years ago now.
Mission life was alright but hard too.
The missionaries took us from our parents and made us stay in dormitories.
Me and my school friend, we broke out one time, we went home to my fathers and mothers place.
They punished us for running away, we were made to stay on Saturday and do gardening and only went free on Sunday.
We used to learn via correspondence, we used slate, adding up, multiplication, english and writing.
I worked in a factory on Denham Island, we used to take the fish from the trawlers, we would put them on ice and pack those fish for the people on the mainland. When I was fifteen, I was driving cattle in my mother's country.
I was a stockman on all those big stations, plus two sheep stations, ringing as well.
Went to the Sydney Opera house in 1973.
When the curtains opened, the old men started singing and we came out from either side of the stage and formed one line in the middle of the stage.
We weren't nervous, we were proud to be dancing.
I did one solo dance that was an owl dance.
This yellow light came down on me and I began to dance.
I've also made corroboree in Canberra for some government bloke.
He took us walking around that big white house there during the day and we performed at night. I used to wear the designs my grandfather taught me, no one can break that.
If someone copied mine, they might break my grandfathers law and they might loose their life.
This is true what my grand father taught me.
"Don't paint up their way, you have your own way." They say, I used to watch my uncle when I was four or five years old, then I got a little piece of bark.
My uncle, Larry Gavenor said to me, you can't paint like me, you have to paint your own way.
I used to paint, spears, boomerangs and bark paintings, I did this to keep going for law.
When we made that paint up book, there are a lot of my stories, my designs in that book.
I like what everyone is doing, everyone is doing their own painting, we work away together in the art centre.".
"My parents were brought to Mornington Island by the government of the day.
I was born at the mission, many years ago now.
Mission life was alright but hard too.
The missionaries took us from our parents and made us stay in dormitories.
Me and my school friend, we broke out one time, we went home to my fathers and mothers place.
They punished us for running away, we were made to stay on Saturday and do gardening and only went free on Sunday.
We used to learn via correspondence, we used slate, adding up, multiplication, english and writing.
I worked in a factory on Denham Island, we used to take the fish from the trawlers, we would put them on ice and pack those fish for the people on the mainland. When I was fifteen, I was driving cattle in my mother's country.
I was a stockman on all those big stations, plus two sheep stations, ringing as well.
Went to the Sydney Opera house in 1973.
When the curtains opened, the old men started singing and we came out from either side of the stage and formed one line in the middle of the stage.
We weren't nervous, we were proud to be dancing.
I did one solo dance that was an owl dance.
This yellow light came down on me and I began to dance.
I've also made corroboree in Canberra for some government bloke.
He took us walking around that big white house there during the day and we performed at night. I used to wear the designs my grandfather taught me, no one can break that.
If someone copied mine, they might break my grandfathers law and they might loose their life.
This is true what my grand father taught me.
"Don't paint up their way, you have your own way." They say, I used to watch my uncle when I was four or five years old, then I got a little piece of bark.
My uncle, Larry Gavenor said to me, you can't paint like me, you have to paint your own way.
I used to paint, spears, boomerangs and bark paintings, I did this to keep going for law.
When we made that paint up book, there are a lot of my stories, my designs in that book.
I like what everyone is doing, everyone is doing their own painting, we work away together in the art centre.".
