Our stories: Career profiles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Holly Savage

INDIGENOUS CULTURAL LIAISON UNIT GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY, TOWNSVILLE

My father Samuel Savage is an island man born on Darnley Island in the Eastern Torres Strait. He married my mother Leila Savage (nee Ambrum) who grew up in babinda. I was born on 9 September 1974. My name is Holly Savage. I am their third youngest in a family of nine, I have 5 sisters and 3 brothers and we all grew up in a three-bedroom house in Cairns.

My childhood was spent attending family gatherings with my siblings, playing sport and watching my dad make kup maris (traditional in-ground cooking) in the backyard.

My mother became a major influence in the way I now lead my life. I appreciate her wisdom in correcting my ways and teaching me about discipline, sacrifice, family, identity and our role as women in our Torres Strait culture. Each one of my 5 sisters is a role model for me as I grew up surrounded by their strength and nurturing and was able to see them achieve. Heroes like Charles Perkins, Cathy Freeman, Eddie Mabo, Florence Griffith Joyner and Nelson Mandela have also influenced the directions of my work and sporting career. after completing Year 12 at Trinity Bay State High School in Cairns, I was uncertain about what career I wanted so I repeated in 1992. There were a lot of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Asian and Papuan New Guinean students so High School was enjoyable.

There was always someone to yarn with and have a laugh. The only poignant element of my school education was the lack of information taught to students about white occupation of Australia and the dispossession of lands and disruption to culture since settlement. I guess this is why I choose to work where I do.

I left Cairns at the end of 1992 as my father had sent me to my sister in Canberra in the hope that I might find a job like hers in the public service. Two weeks after arriving I did just that and have been working ever since. I started my employment with Aboriginal Hostels Limited as a temp, moved to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and was permanently appointed in a position at the Australian bureau of Statistics Central Office.

I was promoted back to ATSIC and was successful in a transfer to their regional office in Townsville. I worked there for a year before winning a position with the Department of Defence at Lavarack Barracks. My unit was to be outsourced so I looked for another position. I am now employed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Townsville as an Administrative Officer in the Indigenous Policy and Liaison Unit-a position I have held since October 2000.

My experiences in the public service have been primarily positive ones. I have had opportunities to travel to communities, attend conferences, develop my skills through training courses, work in various government departments and in different positions within those agencies.

The public service has also allowed me to pursue my other interest of playing representative sport and I will attain another milestone next year when I qualify for leave for 10 years of service.

I am grateful the most for the opportunity to work with grass roots people-my own Torres Strait Islander people and my Aboriginal brothers and sisters. I hope the service I provide in my position contributes to better outcomes and in some way helps to keep our living cultures strong.