Glenyse Ward was removed from her parents at the age of one by the Native Welfare Department and sent to St. John of Gods orphanage in Rivervale where she stayed a short time. She was later sent 80 miles south with two Catholic priests Father Leuman and Brother Lennard to St. Francis Xavier Native Mission in Wandering. Ward stayed there and like others was unable to attend school in Perth due to her poor grades.
After her schooling she was made to work at the mission doing domestic chores and at the age of 15 she was sent to work for an upper class white family. A year later, Ward left and went to Busselton where she was employed as a domestic in the Busselton Hospital kitchen.
