Lola Edwards

Lola Edwards (aka Lola McNaughton, 1946–2011) was a founding member of Link-up (NSW) and a strong advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families, later dubbed the Stolen Generations.

Early life Lola Edwards was born in 1946 was a member of the Stolen Generations and grew up in Tingha, NSW.

When she was four years old, in 1951, Lola was taken away with her older and younger sisters and her brother Gordon from her family by the Aboriginal Welfare board. They were picked up and taken to the train at Inverell to Sydney, her brother Gordon was separated at Central Railway Station, then Lola and her sisters were put on the train to Cootamundra.

Cootamundra Girls Home Edwards spent 11 years at the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls in NSW,

Work When Edwards was 16 years old, she was placed out to work in the township of Junee, where looked after a baby and a little boy. The couple she worked for owned a local taxi service and Edwards would clean the house, do the washing, do the cooking and man the taxi base.

Achievements and recognition

Edwards won the Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Award at the annual Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Awards in Sydney on 9 December 2011. The award recognises individuals with a proven track record in promoting and advancing human rights in the Australian community on a not-for-profit basis. Bill Pritchard, her husband, who accepted the award, said: “This is a true acknowledgement of Lola’s lifetime passion of seeking social justice for Aboriginal people and especially for those members of the Stolen Generations who continue to be disadvantaged.” In 1995–96, together with the late Carol Kendall, Lola was appointed to the specialist team for Link-up (NSW) which travelled extensively throughout NSW conducting 30 preparatory forums to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including members of the Stolen Generations, to give evidence to the Australian Human Rights Commission's Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal People from Their Families. Lola was also the inaugural chairperson of the National Sorry Day Committee.