Her Name is Nanny Nellie: Reclaiming Aboriginal History

aljazeera.comPublished: 4/16/2025

Summary

**Summary:** A documentary titled "Her Name is Nanny Nellie" follows Irene Ridgeway's quest to honor her Aboriginal ancestors after discovering that one of the nameless statues in the Australian Museum archives was her great-grandmother, Nellie Bunjil. In 1925, Australia's Census falsely declared Aboriginal people a "dying race," and the museum commissioned three statues of Aboriginals, displayed without names or identities. Irene aims to reclaim Nanny Nellie's life story and restore her dignity by redisplaying the statue with her name and identity.