A grandmother’s love
Richard Tambling (right) with his grandmother Barbara Tambling and brother Ethan Manski, SA. Photo: Janette Milera.
Adelaide Crows AFL star Richard Tambling credits his grandmother Barbara with his success.
Barbara Tambling is an Unwingmil elder from Fifteen Mile Community outside Darwin. She turned to alcohol after raising her nine kids but when her grandson Richard was born she realised she needed to look after herself if she was going to look after him.
“My daughter was too young when Richard was born so I decided to raise him myself. I quit drinking and looked after him, made sure he learnt all about culture and took him out hunting,” she says.
“If no Richard, I’d still be drinking.”
Now a father himself at 24 and a professional footballer, Richard recalls that as well as raising him, Barbara looked after other kids at Fifteen Mile Community.
“Nana was the heart and soul of the community. People would come to Darwin looking for work and stay at Fifteen Mile and nana took them in like they were our own family,” he says.
“Everyone knew nana’s fridge was always full of food and people stayed away if they were drunk because it was a dry house and you knew not to mess with nana.”
Barbara remembers Richard as a boy who loved football and bush tucker.
“When he was about seven he came home from school and wanted me to buy him a football. I couldn’t afford that so I used to put sand in socks and he’d kick them around like a football. He used to think about footy all the time, never missed training,” she says.
“He loved to cook up the bush tucker: magpie geese, turtle, buffalo, pig. But I tease him when I go out camping now as he’s not allowed bush tucker. Too much fat. He has to keep fit.”
Richard says his nana was “always there to put me back in line” when he got into a bit of strife in his teenage years.
“I ended up making the right choices and it’s led to where I am now. Whenever I go back to Darwin I take her out bush for as long as she wants as thanks for everything she’s done for me and for all those other kids she’s been a mother to.”
And Barbara has some simple advice for new parents.
“Show your kids respect, teach them their culture and the dangers of drinking, take them out bush and show them how to hunt. Teach them blackfella way and white man way.”
Find out more
The Australian Government has the safety and wellbeing of children at the heart of its work with Australian families.
This focus has led to the creation of the Family Support Program, which is delivering support to families, particularly vulnerable or disadvantaged families or communities.
The focus is on improving the way families function, their safety, and supporting the wellbeing and development of children through initiatives such as:
- Communities for Children, which includes Indigenous Parenting Services, which provide support to families with children up to the age of 12 who are at risk of disadvantage;
- Family and Relationship Services, which offer counselling and other support to adults and children having parenting, relationship and family problems;
- specialist services for families experiencing problems such as drug abuse, violence and trauma;
- community playgroups, which give parents and carers a chance to work together to provide their babies and young children with opportunities to learn through play.
The Family Support Program also helps families who are separated, separating or are in dispute. Focussing on alternatives to formal legal proceedings, Family Law Services are helping families resolve problems and improve relationships, particularly in the best interests of children.
The Australian, state and Territory governments have forged a National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development, which is supporting the development of Indigenous Child Care Hubs, new pre-schools and Child and Family Centres.
The Australian Government’s New Directions program helps Indigenous families access support before and after their babies’ births, providing information on baby care and practical advice and assistance with parenting.
The Australian Government is also supporting programs such as the Raising Children Network,
which has useful information for parents and carers of children up to 15 years of age, and the Parental and Community Engagement Program, which encourages parents to get involved with schools and education providers to help their children succeed in their studies. For more information on the Parental and Community Engagement Program call 1800 800 821 and ask to speak with your local PaCE Officer.
The Australian Government also assists new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents through a wide range of allowances and programs, including:
- Paid Parental Leave, the Child Care Rebate and the Child Care Benefit, to help with the costs of raising children. Find out about programs for Indigenous families.
- Strong Fathers, Strong Families, which is a parenting initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to strengthen their knowledge, skills and confidence in their critical roles as fathers, grandfathers, relatives and role models.
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