08/07/2025
“Compassion - it comes from my upbringing. In my culture, we’re matriarchal. You’re taught by your grandmother and the women in your family. My nan was a strong, strong woman. That strength has been passed down. You don’t walk past someone - especially someone elderly or scared - and not be moved. You stop and help.”
Wendy is one of the first faces you’ll see at St Vincent’s Clinic in Sydney, where she works as a receptionist. She’s a proud Kamilaroi woman from Moree in Northern NSW, and she brings warmth, strength, and deep cultural wisdom to her role every single day - ensuring patients feel safe, seen, and cared for from the moment they walk through our doors.
“NAIDOC Week, for me, is a celebration of our culture, our resilience, and our survival. We’ve been knocked down again and again - but we’re still here. We’re the oldest race in the world. That is something worth celebrating,” Wendy says. “For a long time, language and history were beaten out of our people. Now, young ones are reconnecting - they’re asking questions, finding community, learning who they are.”
Wendy has seen the power of cultural identity in the hospital setting, where staff and patients alike have discovered their Aboriginal heritage - sometimes for the first time. “When that happens, it’s emotional - there are tears, anger, joy. But it’s healing. We still need more cultural care. Elders are afraid to go into hospitals - they fear they won’t come out. That’s why we need more visible Aboriginal staff. Not just people who want to help, but people they identify with. That’s how we build trust.”
