Julie Marriott (nee Bugden)
I had a lot to do with young people around the area

I was born in Camden in 1967 and my dad was born in 1937, in the hospital that used to be where Fisher’s Ghost Restaurant is now, so we’ve been around that area for a while.

I read the concept plan and it almost made me cry that they are changing everything. If you live in a place - you want to go back home, but people won’t be able to go back home anymore.

My family was involved in the Minto St James Anglican Church from 1970. We were one of the first families.

I had a lot to do with young people around the area. There was no youth in the church and when I was a youth I was saying, “Why was there no youth?”, and that’s the reason I became a youth worker, because of Minto.

Because of my youth work, I became the Youth Citizen of the Year in 1992. I helped a youth group called Fusion, with Phil Bryden-Brown from 1986 to 1991. I was on the committee of the Minto Youth Refuge and Minto Youth Centre while I was training to be a youth worker.

[The people at the housing estate], they’re very reluctant to move out of Minto. Having had their hearts here in our centre, some were sad to move on. We must remember that most of these people came from war-torn countries. Australia gives them liberty and freedom, but within the social aspect, they felt the challenges of still having to assimilate and integrate.

I’ve been saddened by the change, people having to leave Minto, people that have been there for a long time. The government put public housing all in one area and that was a big mistake and now the social impact is great. There’ve been three generations of people in Minto.

Remembering Minto is a fantastic idea because we need to remember it, what Minto was like, especially when it’s going to be changed completely.

Now, I’m married, with three boys of my own. Now, I want to tell the story of Minto to others in some way.