My name is Joseph Geas my family connection is through my mother, growing up I never knew my biological mother Louana Britcher but after learning of her in my later years & discovering I was Woppaburra, it filled that gap in my life I was searching for. I also think this is important for my siblings & our younger generation.
I joined the TUMRA because at first my sister Cornelia Kyle was on the committee and while she was on she had asked me to represent our family due to family commitments. As I already felt the need in my heart to learn about where I come from, I accepted and feel proud that by doing this it has started to heal the hurt for my siblings and our younger generations. I do this for my family, of whom I will continue to share the knowledge and where possible give them the opportunity of being on country.
An important thing for me is to see our projects finalised. I enjoy being more involved and have done this by volunteering at every opportunity to work on country. This might be workshops on or off country but still Woppaburra related. An example of this is where I have worked alongside the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences doing coral research around the Keppel Islands.
