Eleanor Harding
(1935-1996)
Eleanor Harding was not a graduate of the University of Melbourne, but
her determination and encouragement ensured a tertiary education for
six of her seven children and many other members of Victoria's Aboriginal
community.
Harding came to Melbourne from Queensland in 1956 with her husband.
After a short period in South Yarra, they moved to Fitzroy, where 'Aunty
Eleanor' became a stalwart of the close-knit Aboriginal and white community.
Interviewed in the 1980s for the Cutten History Committee of the Fitzroy
History Society's Fitzroy: Melbourne's First Suburb, she spoke of the
desperate situation of black and white neighbours, constrained by uncongenial
working hours to leave children to be minded by neighbours and of her
electric toaster doing the rounds of the neighbourhood. "We had
to have breakfast earlier, so others could use the toaster."
Harding worked for many years with the Victorian Department of Community
Services, principally with victims of domestic violence. She was also
a mentor for many young people during their school and university years,
encouraging and inspiring them to keep going. Two of her own children,
Destiny Deacon and John Harding, are Melbourne graduates. Janina Harding
graduated from RMIT University, Tom Peterson from La Trobe University,
Clinton Nain from Victoria College of the Arts and Debra Deacon from
the University of South Australia.
Destiny Deacon BA (Melb) and DipEd (LaT) taught History before devoting
herself to photography. She has exhibited widely in Australia and overseas.
Her exhibitions include the First Johannesburg Biennale 1995, 10th Sydney
International Biennale 2000 and Documenta 11, Germany, 2002. Her work
was placed in the 'Top 50 Australian Art Collectibles' by Australian
Art Collectors magazine 2002.
John Harding (BA, GradDipEd) is an award-winning playwright, who has
worked as Senior Project Officer for Aboriginal Education in Victoria
and as a ministerial adviser. His play Up the Road won the Kate Challis
RAKA Award in 1997. His most recent play is Enuff, published in the
anthology Blak Inside: 6 Indigenous Plays from Victoria (2002). He was
awarded the 2002 Nugget Coombs Writing Fellowship at the ANU.
