Daisy Fleming

Pat came to the Northern Territory with her husband the Reverend Thomas James (TJ) Fleming and their two sons to work at the Yuendumu Aboriginal settlement in the tribal country of the southern Warlpiri in 1950 a government settlement established in 1946. They had to rebuild a white ant-ridden house and started virtually from scratch it was a challenge to make a home and garden in the desert and to educate her own sons in isolation up to secondary level. There was no school at Yuendumu so Pat voluntarily conducted a pre-school for thirty young Aboriginal children for eight years while assisting her husband with his missionary work. Pat an accomplished organist play at church services and weddings. She visited cattle stations and helped the women with schooling their children. From 1965 onwards Pat managed the local store this evolved into a supermarket with Pat as assistant manager built it up to annual turnover of $750,000 by 1975. After twenty five years at Yuendumu they retired to Alice Springs and become heavily involved with church activities and the National Trust and Pat was both secretary and treasurer of the local McDouall Stuart branch.MissionaryMulticultural Service