7. Coming home

Leonie Pope was taken from her mother as a baby in 1972, after her mother was coerced into signing forms that gave away her rights. Leonie and her siblings were all taken from their family, and are part of the Stolen Generations.

Leonie was fostered and adopted to a Welsh family, and spent her childhood on the other side of the world, growing up in Wales. This is Leonie’s story of coming home.

You’ll also hear from Dr Mary Graham, about her work to change the approach of child welfare agencies in Queensland.

Gayaa Dhuwi: https://www.gayaadhuwi.org.au/if-you-need-help/

A spokesperson for the Mater Hospital said: ‘Forced adoptions occurred in Queensland into the 1970s and were usually procured by social workers or departmental officers acting for the State Government, which issued a formal apology for the policy in 2012. Mater fully endorses the apology given by Catholic Health Australia in 2012 for the role that some Catholic hospitals and health services played in this widespread practice.’ The Mater didn't address questions about the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children during the 1940s-1980s.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.