Brothers Reunite 55 Years After Stolen Generations Split

A DNA test that was supposed to take years to process gave Iain Seymour answers in 30 seconds, leading him to a brother he never knew existed.

The 61-year-old discovered in 2023 that he was adopted and had Aboriginal heritage. When he visited Link Up SA, a service that reunites Stolen Generations families, counselor Sean Weetra-Newchurch looked at his paperwork and immediately recognized his birth mother's name.

"Within two seconds of looking at the paperwork, he went 'you've got your mum's eyes … I know your brother,'" Iain recalled.

The brothers met in February 2024 at Colebrook Reconciliation Park in Adelaide, the site where their mother Avis Gale spent her childhood. She had been taken from her own mother at just one week old in 1945 as part of policies that separated thousands of Indigenous children from their families.

"My legs went to jelly," said Allen Edwards, 55, remembering their first meeting. "I didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say, but it was a pretty good day in the end."

Their mother Avis had given birth to Iain in Melbourne in 1965 when she was just 20 years old. He was adopted out to a white family, and she never told anyone about the baby she lost.

Allen only learned about his older brother decades later. A poem their mother wrote that's now displayed in the park suddenly made heartbreaking new sense: "My baby, my baby, please give back my baby."

The Ripple Effect

Avis became a prominent advocate for Stolen Generations survivors before she died in 2020. Now her sons are continuing her work in their own way.

The brothers have joined the Blackwood Reconciliation Group, which runs about 100 educational tours each year at Colebrook Reconciliation Park. They share their personal story with school and university groups to help others understand the lasting impact of these policies.

"I was brought up as a white fella, but I've been learning about 58 years of missing heritage and missing culture," Iain said.

Allen has been involved with the group for years, walking the same grounds where his mother grew up separated from her own family. Their mother eventually reconnected with her Kokatha heritage and would visit Koonibba and Ceduna to maintain those connections.

The brothers' reunion comes during National Reconciliation Week, with a march planned in Adelaide this weekend. Through their educational work, they're helping ensure that the stories of the Stolen Generations are remembered and that future generations understand this chapter of Australian history.

Their mother's advocacy planted seeds that are now growing through her sons' voices.