Isabel Reid

Isabel Reid was born Isabel Hampton in 1932 in Quambone, New South Wales, the daughter of Alfred James Hampton and Florence Margaret Hickey, who was from Brungle Mission. She is of Wiradjuri descent. She then went to TAFE to acquire literacy skills. ==Work and advocacy==

Reid did volunteer work and was employed at the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre. In February 2000, she co-founded the Wagga Wagga Aboriginal Elders Group, later becoming president (2002). Aged 88 in 2021, she became the oldest living survivor of those forcibly removed under the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW). She has said that she is not bitter about the past, as her life has been a "bed of roses". In 2022, Reid contributed to a collection of personal stories, by Wiradjuri Elders, titled Growing up Wiradjuri, edited by Anita Heiss, along with Stan Grant Snr and others. In June 2023, Reid told her personal story as part of the launch of a new mental health campaign by Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network, in which she emphasised the importance of connection to culture and community. ==Recognition==

On 13 December 2019, Reid was bestowed with the Order of the Companion of Charles Sturt University, "for her outstanding contribution to Charles Sturt and the broader community". The citation added that she was also commended "more generally as a Wiradjuri Elder and her firm belief that education is a powerful key to achieving reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians". In December 2020, she the mayor of Wagga Wagga held a mayoral reception in her honour, for her work in the community. Morning tea was provided for Reid along with her family and friends. ==Personal life==

Reid married John Robert Reid, a shearer, and they moved to Wagga Wagga in 1970. They had eight children; one daughter died in 1993. ==Publications==

• Contributing author, Making Waves for a New Dreaming (2001) • Contributing author, Growing up Wiradjuri (2022), ed. Anita Heiss ==Footnotes==