Collection related to 2216 John Ernest (Johnny) Richards, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 115th Battery and 6th Field Artillery Brigade: portrait of Mary Woorlong

Informal outdoor portrait of 'Princess' Mary Woorlong (AKA Mary Wurlong AKA Mary Whorlong) outside a small house - probably her home - at Kulkyne Station, in Dadi Dadi country on the Victorian side of the Murray River, south of Mildura (the site of the current Hattah-Kulkyne National Park). Mary Woorlong, a Latji Latji or Muthi Muthi woman, was born in 1879, either on Kulkyne Station, where her mother was buried, or at Euston. She was the daughter of King Wyrlong, a Muthi Muthi man from the Euston area. She spent part of her life at Mildura, and then lived at Kulkyne home station for 25 years, where she trained in domestic service with Alice Oatey. She later worked in domestic service in Mildura. She was the last Aboriginal member of the Mournpall community to reside at Kulkyne Station but was by no means “the last of her tribe,” as contemporary media reports referred to her. Mary Woorlong died on 11 November 1942 and is buried at Mildura Cemetery. An annotation on the verso notes '1917 flood'. The flood of 1917 recorded the third highest level of the Murray River at Kulkyne, and the homestead became an island.

One of a series of photographs related to 2216 John Ernest (Johnny) Richards, 3 Light Horse Regiment, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 115th Battery and 6th Field Artillery Brigade.