Michael Connor

“my Aboriginal grandmother”


Even though the matter is undecided, Museum Victoria has put up online commentary dealing with the Bolt trial. In it they reveal an image given to them for a publicity video by Bindi Cole, one of the Bolt accusers.


This is the first time a photo of Bindi Cole’s Aboriginal grandmother has been made public, and it was not seen by Andrew Bolt before the trial.

In her witness statement Bindi Cole said:

My father is Aboriginal, his name is Byron Powell. I understand that my paternal grandmother was of Aboriginal descent. Her name was Margaret Ann Powell. Her skin was darker than mine. My great-grandmother was very dark. My grandmother hadn’t known exactly where she came from. She was researching her ancestry while I was living with her when I was seven or eight. I watched her go through a process to find out more about her identity. My grandmother eventually found out that she came from the Wathaurong people. The Wathaurong were from Ballarat, Geelong and Werribee area. My grandmother then started connecting with the Aboriginal people of that community. She would also go to the Aboriginal Centre for Elders in Melbourne and spend time there. She really worked hard to establish where she was from. However, even before she had started researching, she knew she was Aboriginal because her mother told her she was Aboriginal I guess because she was black. [Emphasis added: MC.]

… My grandmother knew she was Aboriginal, because her mother told her so. 

Bindi Cole’s Museum video presentation includes this photograph of her grandmother and her father:

See also:

Andrew Bolt says "I’m stuffed at the Museum" here…

Professor Bunyip on the Museum exhibition is here…

Crikey’s Crook trial reporting is here…

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