Moving to the Gold Coast at thirteen, leaving school at fourteen, started working for my parents at "Have a Snack Cafe" at Burleigh Heads at fourteen. Falling in love at fifteen with Brian, an apprentice plasterer from Brisbane, who spent his weekends surfing on the Coast. That was until he ordered his sandwich and glass of milk from me. We couldn't keep our eyes off each other. We became engaged on our birthdays, midnight on the 24th and 25th February 1963. I was seventeen, Brian was nineteen. We married in November that year, earlier than the planned date of February, 1964 the reason two fold; one Brian was leaving for a job in Mackay, and two I was already pregnant. "We couldn't keep more than eyes off each other"! but that's another story. So began twelve years adventure, traveling around Queensland living in a ten foot, fifteen foot, then the luxury of a twenty two foot caravan with an annex.

The builder Brian priced his work from T.F.Woollam and Son, contracted large government work, hospitals, police stations and court houses, etc. When we arrived in Gondiwindi, at the age of twenty two years, I had three sons; Mark four, Jay two and Paul twelve weeks old. I didn't know that my life was to change forever due to the Women's Weekly.

    I had never painted before, other than the small amount at primary school, and secondary school. Reading the Weekly one day, I was overcome by a beautiful advertisement for Carnation Milk, a photo of a mother feeding a baby, I raced out and bought some paints and a large board and painted my first picture. The painting was admired by the owners of the caravan park, who asked if I would do one of their daughter, which I did.

    My mind was already elsewhere on the fascination, of the skin and smiling faces of the kids in town from Toomelah reserve, on the N.S.W. and Queensland border. Brian my beautiful, supportive husband, agreed when I wanted to visit Toomelah, but this was not the same view of Goodiwindi residents who said "A twenty two year old white women would be very unsafe down there!." I disregarded their advise and headed to Toomelah. My Mum and Dad who were also caravaning with us at the time, gave me the opportunity to leave my children and head to the reserve. I was greeted so warmly by the residents. The O'Grady family looked after me.
A lady named Leila took me under her wing, showed me around and as we spent time at the river another fascination began. She talked to me about the culture while I painted her.

    I was aware of the many problems there, like: why the government would put in curb and guttering when people lived fourteen to a house with no bathroom. Or; why the person in charge was shooting all the dogs, when he had four himself. I was too young and naive at the time to do anything about it so I just painted my paintings through my rose coloured glasses, happy pictures of kids playing, people and family groups. I never forgot what I saw or heard!.

    In 1975 we settled at Marcus Beach, just south of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. Our sons had a broad education from traditional to very modern schools. The education in life they got was from standing where Captain Cook landed, sitting at the billabong of Waltzing Matilda, walking where Burke and Wills had been. They didn't have to learn about it, they lived it. Brian and I worried about the effects traveling and living in a caravan might have on them. We need not have worried, they have all lived in caravans at some stage since leaving home. They are happy and married to lovely ladies.

    Brian and I had a wonderful relationship we were best friends and lovers, who after twenty years, would often go away for weekends and never leave the motel. We also had a close relationship with my parents. Dad was working with Brian at this time, they were best mates. Mum and I were friends, who enjoyed hanging out together.

    I continued to paint scenes from Marcus Beach, where I walked or sat on the beach for hours soaking up the atmosphere, then I would go to my studio and paint my feelings. These paintings often had my indigenous figures in them, but because of the time away from the west they had become shadows. In 1979 with a small group of local artists we formed the Noosa Gallery Society. I was the founding member and first president. This came about because of an incredible lady, Anita Aarons, Director of the Harbourfront Gallery in Toronto, Canada, an Australian living part of the time in Noosa, who became my mentor. I received a B.A. from Anita and learned things a university couldn't teach me, not that I would have been accepted in university, my school results would have been a problem. Anita could see the potential, and she believed I could do it. I learned a valuable lesson. You learn when you are ready to learn. If you find someone to inspire you it becomes easy, no matter who you are. It's because you want to learn, not because you have to learn.
In 1982 I spent a month on Mornington Island, an invitation from the Mornington Island Dancers, when they had stayed at our home, while performing in Noosa. To get to the island at that time, I had to have the permission of the Government's Shire Clerk. I sent letters of support from my local Member and the Chairman of the Noosa Council, who said I was a good person. The Shire Clerk wrote back to say I was welcome on the island but should stay at the Guest House and not with the indigenous people. I was in shock as I read this, thinking what if my friends wanted to visit me from Sydney, and they received this sort of letter? I don't think we would have stood for it, we would tear down the Council brick by brick.

        What I saw on Mornington Island changed me forever, I was not the naive person from Toomelah time. I could see the Government had it wrong. They had taken away the peoples self respect. I found I couldn't paint, the reason I went there in the first place. I wrote my first poem instead,
"Where are the People" I did have a wonderful time with my friends going camping on the beach one of the highlight. I returned to Noosa and produced a large protest painting, which made the local and Brisbane paper. This was Commonwealth Games time with marches in the streets, by indigenous and non-indigenous people, trying to get across the plight of the original owners of this land.

    The same year I was included in the Women of the Year luncheon, held in Brisbane for 400 outstanding achievers. Pat O'Shane, our first Indigenous Magistrate, one of the guest speakers, spoke of the plight of indigenous people. Many at the lunch were offended, not wanting to hear what she had to say, and walked out en mass. Our highest women achievers didn't want to hear then, lets hope they want to hear now. Most of the people at my table, including Tracey Wickham who had just won Gold at the Games, stayed and gave Pat a standing ovation.

    In 1984 I started a small shop at Peregian Beach, selling a range of screen printed clothing under my own label, Kerry B. It was just starting to grow and export to the U.S.A. when in 1987 I was asked to be art consultant to Cherbourg. I spent three days a week in Cherbourg, three hours away, the other days on the Coast, where I still had a now scaled down very successful business, now looked after by my un-paid slave, my mum.
February 1988 I started working with four artists, including Steven Bond, an alcoholic at fourteen, metho at sixteen, in court every week for years, been to most detention centres and jails. When I arrived he was twenty one, doing community service for punching a cop.

    Steven I could see had a great knowledge of his culture, passed on to him by a father figure, Swampy Fisher and others, due to the absence of his own father, who had his own demons at the time, and has since returned to Cherbourg and is now a role model for the community.

    Steven's mother Marie, whom I love dearly, had eleven children she raised mostly by herself. Each had their own problems, most grog related, some worse then others. On top of this she looked after so many other children, from baby's to teens who were also getting up to all sorts of things. I couldn't believe that one women could cope with so much heart ache. I wondered how I would cope if our roles were reversed. As I watched her, I could feel her pain. She wanted so badly for Steven to get off the grog and could see that the art gave him the only hope at the time, but the pull from the grog was great. When most of your friends and family have the same problem, it's pretty hard to be strong, even if you want to. Steven would often say he was married to the bottle.

    Marie and I both knew that time was running out for him, that death or jail was a certainty if something didn't change him soon. Steven and I were close, even though I was nineteen years older. We spent a lot of time together, and this had a positive effect on him. He showed me his world, I showed him mine, we learned from each other.

    The other artists were doing well, they didn't have the same needs as Steven. We were not getting the promised support from the government bodies except from one D.E.E.T., the rest were busy fighting each other. So with the help of my friends from Noosa and the community, we did it ourselves! The artist had their work shown at Expo 88. Meanwhile, I was learning first hand how hard it is for indigenous people trying to work in the system.

    My work finished early in 1989, I continued to go to Cherbourg. So many times I would drop everything to go to the rescue of Steven. One night, Steven came to visit me after work. He was very drunk and very aggressive. He threatened me, but I found I could calm him down. He sat at the table. I didn't know what I was watching at the time. This was different, the tremors were inside his body. I had seen his legs and hand shake often. I knew he sometimes passed blood when urinating. Also his fingers were often numb. I was to find out later that it was his organs shutting down. If Steven hadn't stopped drinking, he would have been dead before the week was out. He begged me to help him. I promised him then that I would never give up on him, no matter what. After he left I cried and thought about my sons, all healthy, working and enjoying life. I then thought of Marie, and knew she didn't have the time needed to help Steven, no one else on the community was doing anything for him, they had given up trying. I knew in my heart that it was a commitment I would have to keep, there would be no turning back. I also knew the cost to me would be high, I just didn't know how high, nor did I know then the costs for my family.

    I stayed in Cherbourg longer this time and Steven stayed off the grog and painted very beautiful works of art. In 1989, I made the hardest decision of my life, I left Brian. I knew that if Steven was to survive, I had to give him all my attention and strength. I knew I could keep him alive. I had to do that for him and his mum. I was not in love with Steven when I made my decision, I loved him. He was and is my soul mate.

    The next few years were the hardest I have every had in personal loss. Without Steven I wouldn't have made it through what was thrown at me. Where I was his strength to get off the booze. He was also there through Father's, and Brian's deaths. He was there with my Mum and me when I received my O.A.M. in 1991. I was there when he got a Young Achievers Award and when he took out the Suncorp Art Award. I was also there when he fought for his life after a blood clot from a fight. I was there to pick him up from the gutter. He was there when my business was falling apart. We shared each others pain. The best thing was Steven was capable or being there for me. He had come a long way.

    Yes we became lovers after I left Brian and lived together on and off for six years. We did have lots of great times amongst the pain. He could always make me laugh. He was in love with me, I loved him, I haven't been there to help him for a number of years, he has a wife for that. We are forever Soul Mates, that will never change.    Going to Cherbourg was my job. Doing what I did for Steven was not my job, it was just something I had to do! Steven survived because I believed in him and never gave up on him until he could stand on his own feet.

at the end of my six months I was asked to come back later, but told them i would work for Geoff Guest for nothing before I would ever work for that department again. This is just what I did in 1998-1999

    In 2000 I found the Queensland Government hadn't registered the domain name www.queenslandgovernment.com so I had some lessons and build my first website and start my very own Virtual Democracy Government.