Beloved local community Elder Aunty Carol Cooper, standing in the foreground of ‘The Gully’, her Gundungurra father’s land where she grew up. “I feel at peace here. I feel he’s saying, ‘I’m still here’.”
Story and photos by Linda Moon
Aunty Carol Cooper is a small, humble woman with a big heart and an important message for humanity.
Key Points:
Local Katoomba woman Aunty Carol Cooper rose above a childhood of extreme schoolyard racism and violence to become a bridge to reconciliation.
In 2023 the Darug and Gundungurra Elder was awarded an Order of Australia medal for outstanding services to the local community.
Be inspired by her journey for peace, from the school playground and beyond, in a time when co-operation and working together is more needed than ever to protect life on our planet.
Seventy three-year-old Carol Cooper was born in Katoomba and continues to call it her home. But she still bears the scars of violent childhood racism in the town. In primary school her nose was broken, her lip split and she nearly lost her chin. Her leg was gashed with broken glass. Boys would follow Carol and her siblings home and throw rocks at the family.
The atrocious racism she experienced wasn’t limited to children. Shockingly, it was also perpetuated by teachers. Aunty Carol said a male teacher, who actively hated ‘blacks’, would make her stand outside the classroom in the rain.
The abuse, which included being told she was dumb, affected her schooling. “I can’t write. I still can’t spell,” Carol tells. She felt that being smart would only make the bullying worse.
Remarkably, the descendent of the Gundungurra and Darug people remains big-hearted and free of bitterness. “That was life back then,” she reflects. “I don’t think I was the only one who got bashed up.”
Childhood in The Gully
That ‘life back then’ included living in The Gully: traditional lands in the heart of Katoomba. These were re-occupied by Aboriginal people in the early twentieth century due to white settlement of the Mountains.
To Carol and her family, The Gully was home. “It was really good there,” she recalls. “We didn’t want to move.”
In 1957 residents were forcibly removed from their homes for the construction of the Catalina Racetrack. Carol can still recall the traumatic sight of her family home being burnt down. In some recognition of the past, in 2002 The Gully was officially declared an Aboriginal Place.
A life of service
Rather than self-pity or retaliation, Carol’s life has been one of power through contribution and caring. She continues to be a long-standing volunteer at Katoomba North and South Public Primary schools and St Canice’s, Katoomba. A former State basketball player, she’s involved in the Katoomba North School Koori Club and coaches a girl’s basketball team.
A member of multiple community groups, Carol won a Zest Award for Community Volunteering in 2012. She was invited as a delegate for the second International Women for Peace Conference in Dili, Timor-Leste in 2009. She also helped found the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre.
Further promoting respect for and knowledge of her culture, Carol co-authored Fun and Games in Gundungurra. The activity book (published in 2007) teaches Gundungurra language to children.
In recognition of her community work, in 2023 she was awarded the Order of Australia medal. It’s a reminder, she says, that someone is always watching what we do. This includes what’s most important in life: how we treat each other.
“This was my story, but there were a lot more people that were worse off than me and deserve this award more,” she says. “And if it wasn’t for the ANTAR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) women, my story would never have been told.”
Promoting peace and reconciliation
Described by Zest as “the backbone of the reconciliation movement in the Blue Mountains for the past 20 years,” Carol’s work has been hands-on at the grass roots level.
In her volunteer work in Katoomba’s primary schools she tries to help bullies build their confidence, see the error of their ways and be more responsible. To the bullies, she would explain: “Everybody’s somebody. And they’ve all got feelings.”
Actively intervening against bullying, she assists by walking vulnerable kids, including those with disabilities, to the bus, and more. “I like to make sure the kids are okay,” she says. It’s a role Carol learned from her beloved older sister Jenny. The oldest girl in the family, Jenny looked after her nine siblings while their parents worked, often shielding them from bullying. “She was the best sister anybody could have and just wanted to fix that,” Carol says.
Sharing her own childhood story and culture has been another way of building a bridge between cultures. “I love kids,” Carol says. This extends beyond the Indigenous, to embrace children of all cultures.
Lessons from her Elders
Carol attributes everything she’s learned and her ability to care to female mentors in community work, and having a close, loving family who taught her all about the land and how to treat others.
Her father (a member of the Gundungurra tribe) served in World War II and a reserve (Digger Cooper Reserve) in Leura is named in his honour. A Blue Mountains bridge (Auntie Joan Cooper Bridge) was named after Carol’s mother. A Darug woman born in Parramatta, Joan also won an Order of Australia.
Carol says, “We had it good. We’ve always been a close family. We’ve been blessed; we’ve been lucky. They [her parents] taught us the right way.”
Her mother constantly taught to look after people and help where needed. Of Carol’s victimisation, her mother said, “I know you’ve got scars Carol, but forget the scars, don’t even think of them. If you’re not looking you can’t see it. Always, always be nice to people. Because sooner or later people are going to be nice back to you.” In a world blighted by war, violence and social division, it’s a vital message.
Aunty Carol Cooper at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre. Carol was unable to have children of her own, but her lessons of peace, love and co-operation will endure in the lives of the many children and adults whose lives she has touched.
“Treat people how you’d like to be treated” – Aunty Carol Cooper.
Take Action:
Find ways to volunteer and contribute to peace and co-operation within your local community.
Help stand against racism, bullying and violence. Teach your children to do the same.
Learn about Indigenous culture and how its’ values of land care, contribution and community, can help save the planet.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
Join Andris Heks, Yogic Psychotherapist, winner Best Actor, Blue Mountains, for his workshop to laugh as you never laughed before, as part of a movement to globalise people-bonding cheerfulness through kookaburra laughter contagion as an antidote to distressing world divisiveness.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop
View the trailer and the GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/globalise-unconditional-love-through-kookaburra-laughter
Key event information: - When? 10:15AM - 2:30PM, Sunday 4 October 2026 (1st day of Daylight Saving - 1 hour forward) - Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, 33-39 Acacia St, Katoomba, NSW, 2780 - Fee? $60 or what you can afford - Note: please bring your own lunch
What to expect: - Learn how to stay cheerful for good - Learning the funny, human emulated, communal kookaburra laughter and meditation - How communal kookaburra laughter promotes bonding even amongst strangers - The awesome native treasure of the laughing kookaburra phenomenon - Why Kookaburra Yoga is the ‘most excellent of Yogas` - How communal kookaburra laughter contagion boosts the subtle and gross national product - How you could contribute to the kookaburra laughter contagion
This event is supported by Blue Mountains Planetary Health.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop...
Come along to the Planetary Health Centre this Saturday for the next Skill Share Saturdays event!
This weekend`s agenda:
8:30AM - 10AM | Learn how to use your sewing machine class with Sherlie McMillan
8:30AM | Planetary Health Cafe open, serving Good Fat Pastry and Whisk and Pin
9AM - 10AM | Tai Chi and Qigong class with Virginia Field
10AM - 12PM | Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountain permaculture workshop with Leni from Alchemy Farms
10AM - 3PM | Fashion Upcycling Workshop with Sherlie McMillan
10:30AM - 12PM | Learn to make focaccia from scratch with Laura Zucchetti (no experience needed)
1:30PM - 4:30PM | Planetary Health Bushcare with Karen Hising
For more information and to purchase a ticket, please visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
📣HEADLINE SPEAKER📣
Our headline speaker is Julian Cribb AM – a renowned Australian science writer, journalist and author who has spent more than 50 years communicating science, agriculture, climate and global sustainability issues. He is the author of several influential books, including The Coming Famine (2010), Food or War (2019) and How to Fix a Broken Planet (2023), which explore the future of food systems, planetary health and humanity`s long-term survival.
He is widely recognised as one of Australia`s leading voices on global food security and sustainable development.
To register for his talk, and view the rest of the program, visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair...
At our next Skill Share Saturdays event on Saturday 5th September, join Laura Zucchetti at 10:30am to learn how to make focaccia from scratch!
Come along for a 90 min class where you`ll mix, rest and stretch your own focaccia dough from start to finish, guided every step of the way. You’ll take home your dough to bake on the day in your own oven.
Sign up to this session, and view the other offerings on the day via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
We are pleased to announce that the program and registration for Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026 is now live!
Follow this link to view the program and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
Key information:
When? Saturday 10 October, 9AM - 4PM
Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba
Who is it for? Families, gardeners, enthusiasts, community groups and businesses, anyone looking to learn about how to be more resilient through local and sustainable food systems.
What to expect? Talks, workshops, demos, market stalls, family activities, music, food
Is there a cost? Entry to the Fair and Markets is free. Talks and workshops are ticketed (both free and paid) and have limited capacity, so please register in advance.
Program highlights:
🌏Headline talk: The age of renewable Food – Julian Cribb AM 🎋Wild edibles foraging workshops – Diego Bonetto, Eat More Weeds 🏞️The importance of bioregions in uncertain times – Rowe Morrow, Permaculture Matters 🥒Home canning and food preservation workshop – Kirsty Berté, Permaculture Hawkesbury Valley 🏡Designing your own Permaculture Property – Leni Nyssen, Alchemy Farms 🍃Utilising what’s in front of you – Uncle Lex, The Ganya Shed 🪱How to worm farm - BMCC 🎸Live music by Olivia Dustmann 🌾Community crop and seed swap
Tickets are limited so please register your place now: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
We are also seeking stallholders for the event. If you are a grower, retailer, community organisation or business that would like to get involved, please reach out to [email protected]!...
Thank you to everyone that joined us at the Planetary Health Centre on Saturday for the first of our Skill Share Saturdays program!
The Centre was a hive of activity all day, and we heard from @alchemyfarms_permaculture, the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains team and Andy Mann. Also thanks to Sherlie McMillan from Greater Blue Mountains Rotary for teaching the Fashion Upcycling workshop, and Virginia Field for the Tai Chi and Qigong class.
The next event will be held on Saturday 1st August - you can register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
🖐Get involved!
Do you have a skill, program or interest that promotes planetary health that you`d be willing to share with members of the local community? We are looking for more workshop and session hosts for our future events.
Join us at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on the first Saturday of every month for Skill Share Saturdays!
Our July program includes: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Eating for Earth - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion upcycling and clothing reuse workshop - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
If you have a skill that you want to share, or any questions or queries, please contact [email protected]
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place.
Join Andy Mann, a 23 year old Lawson local, for their Eating for Earth session 🌏
Eating for Earth is a judgement-free plant-based educational workshop that all types of eaters are encouraged to attend. There will be a presentation about the environmental impact of diets, a discussion section, and best of all, food! The food will be fully plant-based.
Andy wants to help inform our passionate community about how we can better reduce dietary environmental impact.
The session will run from 11AM - 12PM on Saturday 4th July.
Other sessions include: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains Climate - Fashion Upcycling - Tai Chi and Qigong - Bushcare on the Planetary Health site - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
To register your place, visit our website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
We’re excited to announce the second Blue Mountains Food Security Fair, taking place in Katoomba in October 2026.
This annual event will bring together growers, thinkers, makers, and community members to explore one of the most important challenges of our time: how we grow, share, and sustain food in a changing world.
Across the weekend, we’ll be exploring themes including: - Healthy soil and regenerative systems - Food and human health - Plant-based food futures - Home and community food resilience - Water-sensitive and climate-adapted growing - Indigenous food knowledge and systems - School food systems - Australia’s food procurement - Global food security challenges Expect a dynamic program of inspiring speakers, practical workshops, and hands-on experiences designed to leave you informed, empowered, and connected.
Key information Date: Weekend of 10th October 2026 Location: Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba, NSW We’ll be announcing speakers and program details soon.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program, host workshops, run a stall or partner with us.
Do you struggle making the most of your veggie garden all year round?
Join Leni from @alchemyfarms_permaculture on Saturday 4th July for her Permaculture Workshop: Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountains seasons, rather than battling against them.
During the two-hour session, you`ll cover crop selection for different seasons, what to grow from seeds vs seedlings, frost and wind protection, and nurturing your soil with a seasonal cycle.
Register for this and other sessions as part of our Skill Share Saturdays program via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
From Saturday 4 July, we are opening up the Planetary Health Centre for our monthly Skill Share Saturdays program: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Throughout each day, you can expect to find a variety of sessions focused on restoring the health of the planet, in terms of the environment, community and economy.
Sessions at the first event include:
- What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Plant-based eating - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion Upcycling and clothing reuse workshop
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Registrations essential.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program - please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested!...
Linda Moon has lived in the upper Blue Mountains since childhood and is a freelance writer for Australian media. A qualified naturopath, permaculture designer, mother and former student of social work, her passion is building local community, gardening, mental, emotional, social, housing and environmental health – all of which are linked!
In Katoomba, a grassroots litter-picking group tackles rubbish before it reaches our water supply. Their story shows how local environmental action, fueled by community connection, can drive meaningful change for planetary health.
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