The inspiring story of a daughter turning compassion into action for Indigenous mums and teens

AS the daughter of a single mum, Ella Bancroft has long understood the challenges faced by women raising children on their own in Australia today.

A proud Bundjalung woman, Bancroft grew up with her mother, artist Bronwyn Bancroft, on the Baryulgil Aboriginal Reserve north of Grafton.

“I have so much love, care, and compassion for my mum and all single mums because I think modern society has failed them,” she said.

It was with this understanding that she founded the non-profit organisation The Returning Indigenous Corporation in 2018, aiming to provide single mothers and Indigenous women with access to health, wellness and cultural spaces.

The initiative began with a quarterly women’s gathering and has since expanded to offer nine programs across the Northern Rivers region. These include cultural camps at Midginbil Eco Retreat in the Tweed hinterland, community healing programs, language revitalisation camps, artist residencies, bush food programs for teenage girls and postpartum care – supporting new mums with services such as home-cooked meals in the weeks following birth.

“I think it’s important to remember children are the ones who will inherit this world,” Bancroft said. “If you can care for and protect them, they will grow up to care for and protect others.”

Now 37, Bancroft has spent time in Sydney and travelled extensively abroad. When she returned to the Northern Rivers 12 years ago, she was struck by how gentrified it had become.

“I remembered it as a grassroots, community-driven place, a beautiful merging of black and white cultures, and a safe space for single mums to raise their children,” she said. “I wanted to pay homage to that value system while navigating the modern world.”

Bancroft also played a key role as a volunteer in setting up the Koori Mail’s flood hub in Lismore in 2022.

The Returning is supported financially by Healthy North Coast, Byron Council Community Initiatives Grant, and The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal’s Good Place Program.

The organisation’s latest artist residency group exhibition, Jugun, featuring work by 11 emerging artists, is on display at Lone Goat Gallery at Byron Bay Library until February 14.