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Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson, the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ of ¾«¶«´«Ã½’s (UOW) first local Aboriginal honorary doctorate recipient, has pioneered inspirational prison poetry programs while challenging academic constructs and championing authentic Indigenous education across her remarkable relationship with the ¾«¶«´«Ã½. 

Planting the seeds of social justice

The seeds of Aunty Barb’s lifelong commitment to social justice were planted early. Born on the Aboriginal reserve at Kemblawarra, young Barbara faced her first encounter with institutional inflexibility when teachers at her local Convent School refused to let her use the toilet. She was only three years old.

"I got my little drinking cup, plonked it in the passageway, and I had a wetty there in my little cup – and I got expelled."

Reflecting on this defining moment, she states: "I think the seeds of social injustice were sown then… I've been a rebel ever since."

Aunty Barb standing with Kemblawarra and Coomaditchy Lagoon in the background. Photo: Michael Gray.

That rebellious spirit would prove instrumental in shaping not only her own extraordinary journey – from her teaching roles at UOW from the mid-1980s and receiving UOW's Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2014 – but also in changing countless lives along the way. As the first local Aboriginal person to receive such recognition from the ¾«¶«´«Ã½, Aunty Barb held her degree high that day, declaring it "one for the Wadi Wadi people."

A decade on, she maintains a complex relationship with being "first" in so many contexts. "I was the first local Aboriginal person," she reflects. "And that caused me to reflect, and I do a lot of reflection and join the dots between things, you know. Like I'm the first, the only one in my generation and up to my generation in my entire family history to get a university degree."

But Aunty Barb yearns for a different future: "I want to look forward to a day when we're no longer the first. You know? Like... the first Cathy Freeman. Being first shouldn't be an anomaly anymore. It should just be part of every day."

Dreaming inside: Unlocking imprisoned voices

Aunty Barb's most powerful contribution may be the poetry anthologies, now in their 13th edition. What began as a modest attempt to support one gifted student has since empowered the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the editing and publishing of their poetry, songs, biographies, and other writing.

The program's origins trace back to her work as a casual teacher for Southern Cross ¾«¶«´«Ã½, supporting Indigenous inmates enrolled in degree programs. When one particularly gifted sociology student was transferred from Goulburn to Junee Correctional Centre, funding for his education was cut. Rather than abandon him, Aunty Barb herself made the five-hour drive, staying overnight to ensure he completed his degree.

"I just didn't want him to not submit, not complete, simply because someone wouldn't pay him."

That experience opened doors to what would become the foundation of her work in prisons. The first Dreaming Inside volume was born from leftover workshop funds and sheer determination, with Aunty Barb making what she now calls "the silliest thing I ever did" – adding "Volume One" to the cover. "I've had to work so hard ever since."

Aunty Barb proudly holds assorted volumes of Dreaming Inside. Photo: Michael Gray. 

The impact is profound and immediate. In the gaol's cultural centre – "an oasis of loveliness" covered in artwork from every culture represented within its walls – Aunty Barb witnesses life-changing moments daily.

"I see the fellows come in for the first time and they're rather downcast and you don't get a lot of eye contact – their life is written on their face. But I've seen them go out 10 feet tall."

The work extends far beyond poetry.

"We are everything to them. We're mother confessors. We're conduits to the outside world and community flow. Cultural safety."

One particularly moving encounter illustrates the program's impact. After pacing with an agitated new inmate, he stopped and asked: "Are you from real life?" When she confirmed she was, "he burst into tears and sobbed on my shoulders. And he said... 'for the first time since I've been here, that I've been treated like a human being.'"

Learning at the feet of grandmother mountain

Aunty Barb's relationship with the UOW began in the mid-1980s. Her extensive involvement has included time as a lecturer in Aboriginal studies, history, law, and literature. She has also served as an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Business and Law since 1999 and as a member of UOW's Human Research Ethics Committee since 2006.

Throughout her three-decade association, Aunty Barb has consistently viewed UOW ¾«¶«´«Ã½'s location at the base of Mount Keira through an Indigenous cultural lens, transforming the landscape into something sacred.

"In Aboriginal culture, grandparents are the teachers," she explains. "And that's the significance I see: all these teaching institutions at her feet… she keeps watch."

This vision of learning "at grandmother mountain's feet" reflects her broader approach to education – one that deeply values ancestral wisdom alongside academic achievement. But she remains critical of academic constructs that may dilute or misrepresent Indigenous culture, particularly the widespread use of phrases like "acknowledging Elders… emerging."

"Emerging?"  she challenges. "You might never make it. You know? Like, you might never make Eldership... Once upon a time, you could never be [an Elder] until you got your grey hair."

Her message to future UOW students, especially for younger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander generations, thoughtfully combines a respect for formal education with the crucial importance of staying grounded in culture:

"Value your education. Honour the educators, you know, put trust in the educators... When you walk the academic path, don't forget to take your shoes off and walk on Country. Get yourself grounded. And you can only truly ground yourself when you take your shoes off."

"When you walk the academic path, don't forget to take your shoes off and walk on Country." – Aunty Barb Nicholson. Photo: Michael Gray.