Conversations Writer Winnie Dunn on identity and the meaning of homecoming
Jul 18, 2024
Winnie Dunn shares her empowering journey from western Sydney to Tonga, embracing her cultural identity through writing. She explores family heritage, Tongan traditions, and cultural discoveries, finding strength in familial relationships and self-discovery. Uncovering a diary from her birth mother sparks a passion for writing and deeper connections to her roots.
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House Of Fe'ofa'aki Shaped Identity
- Winnie describes her grandmother's Mount Druitt house, the House of Fe'ofa'aki, as a central family home named 'to love one another'.
- The house blended overtly Western religious imagery with photos and achievements of her Tongan family, shaping her bicultural childhood.
Grandmother's Migration And Resilience
- Winnie recounts her grandmother's migration story: an arranged move to New Zealand, marriage to an Englishman, then relocation to Sydney during the White Australia era.
- Her grandmother worked multiple jobs, faced racism, and later brought extended family to Australia before divorcing.
Meeting Of Her Parents And Mother's Illness
- Winnie recalls her parents meeting at Mounties RSL over a shared cigarette and later having three children before her mother's illness.
- Photos trace her mother's decline from a regal presence to skeletal illness before she died when Winnie was very young.