Bush Mary

‘The only Sundays I looked forward to were spent with my beloved Australian nanna Kathleen Mary McCarthy. I would sit with Nanna McC - listening to her stories unwind - and watch her pickle onions and brew ginger beer for Sister Kate’s fete. She always cared for unloved and unwanted orphans. She would send me out to play with them. I didn’t understand that I was playing with stolen children. I used to think Nanna McC was a kind of saint. I knew she was sent into service as a domestic slave, but it was not until that moment I understood that she was a Bush Mary.’ - Teena McCarthy