Leading Aboriginal Tours Over The Harbour Bridge Reconnected Me To My Childhood In Foster Care
Matty Mills is a proud Gamilaroi man who conducts Aboriginal tours on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
As well as working in the TV industry, Matty Mills has one of the coolest jobs in the city. Matty is a proud Gamilaroi man who conducts cultural tours on top of the country’s most famous structure, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Burrawa Climb has recently been added as an alternative to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, and tells stories of the area before European colonisation. Burrawa means “above” or “upwards” in Eora Nation language.
Artistic director and internationally acclaimed playwright Wesley Enoch AM is the man behind the idea of the Burrawa Climb. He worked in consultation with not-for-profit community organisation Tribal Warrior and the Metropolitan Land Council to turn the idea into a reality.
“Stories of people like Barangaroo, Bennelong, and Patyegarang — but also telling stories about the Countries like Gadigal Country, Wangal Country, or Gamaragal Country — this climb is eye-opening. The stories will blow your mind. You walk away with insight into a world that was here long ago,” said Matty.
After chatting with Matty about his exciting new job, I learnt that the Burrawa Climb had not only opened up new doors for the former foster child, but some old ones too. So, I asked him to share his story.
From Foster Care To Boarding School
I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney with a single mum and my siblings. We were told dad passed away, so I grew up with the belief that he had died.
I longed for my culture. I didn’t know much about my identity as an Aboriginal person. It was only when we entered the foster care system that I was told my dad didn’t have a death certificate — he was still alive.
They ended up finding dad in the country. He did an amazing job getting us back from foster care. It was the first time I was able to really connect with my culture, and feel whole as a person and as an Aboriginal man.
Taking Dad to do the Burrawa Climb was one of the proudest moments of my life.
View this post on Instagram
As a teenager, I realised I would have to find a way to create my own future. I was living in Tamworth, and there was a boarding school exhibition at Town Hall. As I was looking at all these schools, I saw a photo of the Opera House and I was like, “I wanna go there”.
At the time, I was looking for a way out because I was going to a really rough school. I wasn’t focused, I wasn’t doing well. I was distracted. My home life wasn’t great either. I knew that I was struggling, even as a little kid.
I would lose a lot of myself, a lot of humility, and a lot of culture.
I wrote a letter to one of the boarding schools and asked if they would take me — full well knowing they’d never had an Aboriginal kid before. I was craving stability, and I knew I could find it at a school like that. For one, I knew every night I’d get a feed. There would be structure, routine, good education, and there would be friends — because you live with them. Everything that was missing from my current life would be in the one place.
What I didn’t realise at the time was that by going to this school, as the only blackfella, I would lose a lot of myself, a lot of humility, and a lot of culture.
But I was so distracted by the superficial rich bullshit of these kids who had everything — absolutely everything. All of a sudden, I was at school with the richest kids in Sydney. And I came from a house where sometimes I would struggle for a feed. I’ve definitely experienced both ends of the spectrum.
View this post on Instagram
Finding Wesley Enoch AM, An Inspiration and Mentor
Being asked to be a part of the Burrawa Climb was an epic full-circle moment for me. The Burrawa Climb is this amazing initiative through the Sydney Festival and its artistic director Wesley Enoch AM.
I first met Wesley 10 years ago on the grounds of the boarding school I went to.
Supplied: Bridge Climb Sydney
I was the only Aboriginal person at my school, and I had nobody else to ask for help with a project I was working on, so I reached out to Wesley online. He came to my school, we met in the schoolyard, and worked on a Black piece that I was doing for an all-white audience.
A decade later we were standing on top of the Harbour Bridge, and we could point out my school that we’d met at — it was a beautiful moment for me. Wesley is so giving with his time — he’s such an amazing Aboriginal man who is so intelligent, loving, and nurturing.
Inspired By My Younger Self
I was at my most wise and my most mature as a young kid. I got lost and became entitled when I went to boarding school, and became a different version of myself. After school, I was exposed to the party scene of the gay community and I lost even more of myself.
Only recently have I had to reflect on who I want to be. I had to go back to that young kid in foster care — who was so wise, who would question things, who would ask the things kids wouldn’t normally ask.
This sounds crazy, but the background of my phone is my younger self. That’s me when I was in foster care.
Today, whenever I make a decision, I have to take myself back to that young wise Matty. Sometimes in the big wide world I can get distracted and lose focus. And because I’m not in those tough circumstances anymore, sometimes I can make really dumb decisions.
I know that I — as a fully grown adult, who’s had a multitude of all these different experiences — can sometimes not be as wise as that young person. It’s important for me to remember.
I know exactly where I was when that photo of me [in foster care] was taken, and that only came recently from the Burrawa Climb…
The Power Of The Media
I always wanted to be an actor. After high school, I went to acting school in Western Australia for a year, then came back to Sydney and landed a job in TV. I’ve now been in the media for five years.
View this post on Instagram
It really opened my eyes to the world of the media — how they control the narrative of the stories they told, and how they build trust with their audience. I quickly learnt that the media had power, and as a young person that really inspired me.
“Do you remember me from 15 years ago?”
When the Burrawa Climb first started, it was picked up by the media. I was on TV and one of my foster carers from when I was a little kid saw it. She messaged me on social media and said, “Do you remember me from 15 years ago?”.
I was like, “Of course I remember you!” and she sent me that photo of me as a kid, which I have as my screensaver. She was one of the nicest carers I had.
One thing she did say, as a funny side note was: “I’m so glad you worked out you’re gay because you were so gay when you were little” — which is hilarious.
But another thing she said to me was: “You were such a headstrong kid, and you would argue with me on my ignorance on so many things.” When she said that I thought: that’s where the drive comes from.
I was always this way. I always saw right and wrong, and I always fought for the little person. No matter where my path takes me, I will always continue to fight for justice for the communities I am a part of.
This story was told to Jennetta Quinn-Bates, a proud Barkindji woman who is passionate about her culture and highlighting Aboriginal stories. You can find her on Twitter.