DESCENDANTS of notorious stockman Albert Widders will muster in town for the Widders family reunion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Family folklore is that Albert once gave Captain Thunderbolt a hiding for pinching one of his horses.
He’s even reputed to be the Man from Snowy River.
“Both Albert and Jessie Widders [his wife] are buried here and lived here a long time,” Anaiwan elder Steve Widders said.
“Albert was born in 1843, I think he was a bit of a ladies man too.”
The Widders’ are one of the oldest and largest families in Armidale.
A lot of family members have only recently realised their connection to the Widders’, Mr Widders said.
"Since the apology by Kevin Rudd I think more people have been willing to acknowledge they’re Aboriginal and there’s some of those people in our family,” he said.
“There were people that were removed from their families, told they weren’t Aboriginal and to forget about their identity.”
Family members will come from Cairns, Wollongong, Brisbane, Gympie, Adelaide and overseas.
The reunion happens once every decade.
“We’ve got to have it so we can give the young ones a sense of belonging,” Mr Widders said.
“We’re celebrating our survival.
“We’ve got generations after us who will survive if they know who they are and where they come from.”
Respect, Remember and Reconnect is the theme this year.
Families will bring dirt from their hometowns to be turned into Earth art, and elders will share stories and language.
Stories from each family will be recorded and added to a family tree, with Widders’ family trivia.
It’s about instilling pride in the younger generations, Mr Widders said.
“We want to share the Anaiwan, Dunghutti and Kamilaroi history with not only family but with the wider Armidale community,” he said.
The family reunion will be held at Dangersleigh Hall on January 26.