Born on the western side of the Ord River on Old Texas Station, Queenie McKenzie lived her entire life in the East Kimberley.  Her mother was a Malngin/Gurundji woman and her father was a white horse breaker on Texas Downs Station.  With no mission contact and no western schooling Queenie had a very traditional Aboriginal upbringing and miraculously she was never removed from her family despite her fair skin and blonde hair.  However, later in life she became a stalwart of the Roman Catholic faith and was well known for her hearty singing.

In the early 1970s all the “Texas Mob” moved to Turkey Creek (now known as Warmun) which lies adjacent to Texas Downs Station.  Queenie became a senior member of the community, a teacher of Gij...