By Andrew Humphries
With the perfect role model right in front of them, Hobart twin sisters Grace and Ayla Williams are beginning to make their own mark on indigenous affairs within Tasmania.
In Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Leprena manager Alison Overeem, Grace and Ayla have one of Tasmania’s most respected indigenous figures as their mentor, continuing a relationship which began in a Hobart children’s centre when the girls were just two months old.
That relationship was strengthened seven years ago when Grace’s art took her to Leprena and a request for permission from Alison to paint a wall there as part of a grant from Arts Tasmania.
“I found out Alison was working at Leprena, so I knocked on her door and said, ‘can I paint here?’,” Grace says.
“It was that wall that started it all and Ayla and I began working here at Leprena as volunteers.”
For Grace and Ayla, their roles within Leprena and the Uniting Church as part of the work being done for the wider indigenous community, have become a hugely important part of their lives.
Ayla says their work within Leprena brings challenges but also a great sense of accomplishment.
“We are involved with such a diverse range of things, depending on the needs of the community at any particular time,” Ayla says.
“One day we might be doing something around NAIDOC Week and the next day it might be outreach work.
“A lot of what we do is very informal and we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and that is important because our community doesn’t respond well to an office type of setup.
“It’s a relationship founded on everyone being on an equal footing, and no one ever feels that there is a hierarchy, which is something that fits within the Uniting Church as well.”
Ayla says she and Grace continue to learn much from the way Alison goes about her work as Leprena manager, and as part of the wider indigenous community in Tasmania.
“I learn a lot by just watching her, and how she conducts her work,” Ayla says.
“She and I sit on multiple committees together, and she also provides opportunities for us to take the lead on issues.
“We might come into work one day and she’ll say, ‘okay, you girls are leading the welcome to country at an event this morning’, or ‘the Governor is coming and you are leading a particular element of that visit’, and even if we’ve been shaking with nerves we have had that support to flourish.”
That sense of confidence means Grace and Ayla feel ready to take the next step in leadership, while also acknowledging the complexities around Tasmania’s indigenous community.
“I do feel that we are emerging now in terms of leadership around indigenous issues,” Ayla says.
“Grace is acknowledged very widely as a Tasmanian palawa artist, while I’m probably recognised more within the realm of the Uniting Church in terms of leadership.
“I haven’t always been comfortable with that because it means stepping out of your comfort zone and putting yourself out there, which can take a lot of courage and leave you vulnerable.
“It’s been a complex but good journey.”
And for Grace and Ayla, it’s a journey that, in many ways, is only just beginning.