Aunty Cheryl Cooper (second from right) with Aunty Sharon Nylen, Aunty Gayelene Arandall and Aunty Carol Alliman at Benalla's NAIDOC Week celebration in 2023.
The designation of being an Aunty or Uncle in Aboriginal culture is a bit of a mystery to many Australians.
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But the titles simply mean that the Aunty or Uncle is recognised as being an individual conferred with ‘Elder’ status.
Being an elder signifies respect and kinship and the assumption that the Aunty/Uncle possesses wisdom and knowledge.
One such Aunty is Cheryl Cooper.
Aunty Cheryl is a textile artist who lives and works on Yorta Yorta and Taungurung country, otherwise known as Benalla in north-east Victoria.
She finds inspiration for her work in the central theme of the river, with the Yorta Yorta being river people. Her art work incorporates locally gathered grasses, reeds and feathers.
Cheryl recently won a commission to create an artwork for Benalla Rural City Council’s Reconciliation Plan.
It was framed in century old stringybark timber from an old house in Baddaginnie.
She hopes this work will create conversations which will build understanding about what reconciliation means and keeping Aboriginal culture alive.
Alexandra (Taungurung country) is where life began for Auntie Cheryl.
The family would later move to Baddaginnie and at primary school she remembers having the father of Merv Hughes, the famous cricketer, as her teacher in the 1960s.
He was apparently as big as his fast bowler son and inspired a bit of fear in the students.
Aunty Cheryl Cooper speaks to attendees at the Reconciliation Action Plan launch event at Benalla Library.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
The family then moved to Warrenbayne where her father, who had been a drover, became an Interstate truck driver between Melbourne and Perth.
Although, the family obsession was with horses.
The highlight of Cheryl’s time at school was having a poem published in the Benalla Ensign about Red Handed winning the Melbourne Cup.
Another highlight was as a member of the local pony club, where she won the Northeast show jumping championship on a 27-year-old horse.
Leaving school at 15, Cheryl worked preparing horses for sale and riding them in the sale rings at Wangaratta and Wodonga.
At 19, she married the boxer Milton Cooper who was well known on TV Ringside and World of Sport on Channel 7.
They lived in Kalgoorlie with Milton’s family and had two sons, Milton Junior (Jake) and Beaujest (Beau). Both live in Queensland.
Auntie Cheryl’s next move was to Queensland, where she bred quarter horses and sold their foals.
While there, she participated in a 24-hour non-stop riding event.
The aim of the event was to raise money for a Bundaberg disability workshop.
Cheryl also worked as an Aboriginal health worker at the Cherbourg Mission and in different remote areas.
Aunty Cheryl Cooper unveiling a quilt she created at Benalla’s 2023 NAIDOC Week event.
On returning to Benalla in 2015, she became involved with the local community, particularly in producing quilts with the Deadly Aboriginal Women’s Yarning Group.
Nowadays, she visits schools giving talks about Aboriginal culture and showing artefacts such as skins, nulla nullas and weaving.
Auntie Cheryl has a vision for the future that is based on education of our young people and on women gathering to craft, yarn and heal.
Aunty Cheryl Cooper (second from right) with Aunty Gayelene Arandall, guiding Benalla students as they created a huge artwork in 2025.
She believes it would be wonderful to have a Keeping Place where school children could come and learn about our local aboriginal past and present, and where they can gather and connect to keep culture alive.
She believes that everyone including non-aboriginal people value their heritage and culture and the Keeping Place would provide a great foundation for mutual understanding and the future.
Aunty Cheryl invites any interested women who would like to participate in a Women’s Cultural Gathering Day to contact her on 0439 001 918.
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