Aunty Ida WestPrint Page

The Aunty Ida West Healing Garden commemorates the contribution of Aunty Ida West to the betterment of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

Ida West (Aunty Ida) is well known in Tasmania as a strong social advocate for her people. In her lifetime she achieved significant results in women's health, land rights and recognition of the Aboriginal community in Tasmania. Ida was born on the Reserve at Cape Barren Island on 30 September 1919, the second daughter of the late Ivy Victoria Albeana (Everett) and Henry Isaac Armstrong. The family moved to Killiecrankie, Flinders Island in the early 1920s -a full account of her childhood is available in her book Pride Against Prejudice.

Ida married Marcus Sydney West on 30 September 1939 under the gum trees at Killiecrankie, Flinders Island. Her daughter, Lenna was born at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Launceston on 27 July 1940, followed by two sons, Darrell and Michael. Ida and Marcus divorced in 1960.

In an interview with the Mercury newspaper in 1997 Ida described how she first became politically active after joining a Union and seeing the benefit of joint action. Soon after she joined the Labor Party and became involved in Aboriginal politics in the 1970s. She would go on to become President of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (incorporated 1973). Her efforts (along with other Aboriginal activists) culminated in the handing over of the title deeds to Wybalenna on Flinders Island to the Aboriginal community on 18 April 1999. Aunty Ida died on Monday 8 September 2003 after a long battle with cancer. Tasmanians were deeply saddened by the death of such a caring and prominent Tasmanian woman.

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