AustLit

Margaret Parker was born at Port Hedland Lock Hospital which had previously been used for Aboriginal leprosy sufferers. Her mother is a Ngarluma woman who came from Roebourne and worked on Mulga Downs Station as a musterer and station cook. Her father was a Punjima man who came from the top end of Karijini National Park and worked as a station hand on Mulga Downs Station. He was a highly respected man chosen to represent the Pilbars people at the National Aboriginal Conference [NAC] and was a represenative at the Aboriginal Legal Service [ALS] and the Advisory Council. Parker went to school at Nullagine and later on to Derby High School. After leaving school she worked as a housemaid at Nanutarra. Parker's parents chose an older man for Parker to marry and with him she had one child.