Bronte's story

I want to give Indigenous people a voice

‘Being at uni, I have never been more proud to be Aboriginal,’ says Bronte Charles from her room on campus, and a shiver goes down my spine as I take in what she has just said.

‘I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to connect with culture growing up,’ she shares. And though she did spend some time on Bundjalung Country in southern Queensland with her mother and grandmother, and at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Redfern, where she lived with her father and grandparents in housing commission, it was moving onto campus that really ignited her cultural journey.

‘Walanga Muru has done so much for me,’ Bronte says warmly. ‘Even just walking past the building, you feel so safe and represented – they are so supportive of their Indigenous students; they care so much.

‘The staff has really helped me connect to culture – from community lunches to yarning sessions and weaving circles, to social sporting teams and free tutoring, they’re incredible. And I’ve met so many people who have grown up like me. We’re all at different stages of our cultural journeys, but it’s nice to be able to grow and learn together.’

Talking with Bronte, it’s clear just how key seeing others like you is to changing the lived experience of First Nations peoples. ‘Being at Macquarie, living on campus, I’m surrounded by so many amazing Indigenous students. The number of people who are studying to make a change for their community is inspiring,’ she says.

‘One of my friends is studying policy, and just did an internship at parliament, and I’ve met other Indigenous people who are studying media, law, teaching, medicine, even software engineering. These students will go on to improve Indigenous representation in these fields, which is just so powerful.’

But the change is deeper than this, even. As Bronte explains, ‘Being an Indigenous person at MQ, I definitely have hope. I’m hopeful that with more Indigenous people going through university, being able to make a change for their own families and their own communities, they will break family cycles that seem to set out our life paths. It’s so empowering.’

Defying the statistics is something Bronte knows firsthand. ‘I didn’t even think university was an option for someone like me – no-one in my family had ever been before,’ she says without anger or regret, but that doesn’t mean the struggle hasn’t been real. In her words, ‘My journey getting to Macquarie wasn’t the easiest.

‘I’m really proud of the way I grew up, but it wasn’t the best of circumstances. I moved around a lot and have experienced what it’s like to go without, so I know the effects it can have on young Indigenous people. I know how it can isolate you from your peers, and make you feel different, or even unworthy.

By Year 10, though, Bronte was determined do well in the HSC, and with the support of her dad, who she says has always been there for her, proudly walking alongside her on her cultural journey, she achieved a scholarship through the Goodes O’Loughlin Foundation to go to Pymble Ladies College on Sydney’s north shore.

‘I wanted to get an education – a good one. I chose to get an education for my great aunty Delma, who couldn’t, as she was put into Cootamundra Girls’ Home as part of the stolen generations, to be trained for domestic service. I chose to get an education because my Grandma was taught not to believe in her own capabilities because she was Indigenous and, because of that, left school at 13 and needed to teach herself how to read and write. I chose to get an education because statistically, I had a better chance of getting arrested than finishing high school.’

But she did it. This bright, determined young girl, who traveled by train every day from Redfern to Pymble, from one world to another, not only completed the HSC but got the marks for a Bachelor of Marketing and Media at Macquarie University. ‘It was a really proud moment getting into uni,’ she says, but the struggle wasn’t over, and Bronte says without support, going to university wouldn’t have been possible at all.

‘I received two scholarships,’ she explains. ‘They really bridged the gap and have allowed me to reach my full potential. The first was for accommodation on campus. Without this, I wouldn’t have the stability I have now. I moved around a lot when I was younger, so having a place to call home has meant a lot to me, and I always go to class because I’m right here on campus; it makes things so much easier.’

Bronte also received an Omnicom scholarship, which meant she could focus on her studies in marketing and media. ‘It also put me in contact with a lot of people in the industry, and to be supported by such a large company was really special. It gave me a lot of confidence and pushed me to do well at uni.’

There’s no doubt that Bronte has done well, and she says the Bachelor of Marketing and Media, which she is due to complete at the end of 2022, has allowed her to figure out what she loves doing and what she wants to do for a career.

‘When I did my first journalism unit at Macquarie, I knew that’s what I wanted to do – I wanted to give Indigenous people a voice and have finally found a way to do it. Storytelling is a quality that’s been passed down from my ancestors. I care about the stories of my people and their stories are what I continually try to amplify.’

Bronte says she was able to centre all her journalism assignments around issues that were important to her – Indigenous jewellery makers, the gentrification of the Block, Indigenous dancers at Splendour. ‘I could finally tell these important stories,’ she says. ‘It lit a fire in my belly.’

It’s a fire she took to her internship at the National Indigenous Television (NITV) channel at SBS as part of her degree, where she now works part-time. ‘I’ve been able to apply the things I’ve learned at uni to the media world, and I’ve pitched some of the stories I’ve worked on for my uni assignments.’

She’s covered the closure of the NCIE, stories about Indigenous deaths in custody, and reported from the Yabun festival on 26 January. She’s also been interviewed for the Women’s Agenda podcast, the Leadership Lessons, and says, ‘I feel really empowered studying media and having the opportunity to share my story at MQ.

‘It’s so important for Indigenous people to have a platform to share their voices – I want my brothers and sisters to grow up in a world where they can see people like me, and my mum and my grandma on television, telling their stories. It creates really positive change, and it’s a really special feeling to be able to give back to your community. I feel I have found a way to do that by studying at Macquarie,’ she says.

Although Bronte will be leaving campus – the place she has called home for four years – to move into her own place at the end of the year, she is excited about what the future holds. Thanks to her tenacity, insight and will to succeed, combined with support from Walanga Maru and generous scholarship donors, she is now ready to fly.

There’s the possibility of a masters at MQ, balanced with ongoing work at NITV, and new stories to tell. And, with that bright sense of optimism that lights up her whole face when she smiles, no doubt she will continue to be a beacon to others – Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike.

Bronte Charles is a proud Bundjalung woman. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Marketing and Media at Macquarie University. Among other positions, she tutors at Walanga Maru and is a cross-platform journalist with the National Indigenous Television (NITV) channel at SBS. She represented MQ at the Indigenous Nationals, and won the MQ Reconciliation Prize for her article, ‘Why “growing up Aboriginal” isn’t something I can define’.