Tamworth's Amy Creighton evokes the strength of her community through her work

"I carry their strength, as well as their names, so I regard myself as honoured to carry both their names and with that comes responsibility and strength," Mrs Creighton said.

Both of Mrs Creighton's parents were drovers in Narrabri, and in many of her childhood memories, she was surrounded by nature.

She, along with her four brothers and one sister, would make the bush their playground.

"I often say that earth and the ground, our ground, was my playground," she said.

"My brothers would make me mud dolls and little cowboys and put them on the horses because that's what I grew up with playing.

"I had a good upbringing because I was not removed from my family's care."

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Throughout her childhood, Mrs Creighton grew up surrounded by her culture, as her parents were active members of the Aboriginal Progressive Association.

"They were strong for our people, always fought for Indigenous rights, and I grew up hearing about our strengths, not the negative," she said.

In 1975, Mrs Creighton's family decided to make the big move from Narrabri to Tamworth.

"I went from knowing everybody in the town to knowing no one," she said.

Mrs Creighton said she was never doubtful of who she was and her parents laid the foundations on which she would go on to build her life.

Her parents were founding members of the Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service, Birralee MACS, the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, while her mum sat on the Tamworth hospital Aboriginal Advisory Board in the '80s, working with their community to provide spaces and services as needed.

They would also host an Aboriginal knockout and the Aboriginal Country Music Showcase, which she said was "pretty significant".

"We grew up as country people, so country music was very much a part of our life," she said.

Mrs Creighton's journey would eventually take her to Newcastle, where she completed her Higher School Certificate at an Aboriginal girls' college, and from there, she applied for her first job at the Awabakal Aboriginal Corporation.

"There were 60 applicants for that job and I got it," she said.

The role consisted of two elements: setting up an Aboriginal arts and craft shop, and supporting resettled Aboriginal men and women.

"They would move Aboriginal people from regional and remote towns into cities," she said.

"What they didn't realise was they were bringing people off missions and reserves and into towns - they lost most of their support system, and left many of their friends and family."

With the growth of the Aboriginal medical and legal services in the early 1970's, Mrs Creighton pivoted into the health sector in the early '80s.

She held the first Aboriginal-identified position at Youth and Community Services in Tamworth, which is now the Department of Communities and Justice, and then would go on to work in Moree. Then, in 1991, she became the Aboriginal Liaison Officer at the Tamworth hospital.

In that role, Mrs Creighton sat on Aboriginal advisory boards, the NSW Rural Health Board, and many more.

She was often the only Aboriginal person at the table, but the strength instilled in Mrs Creighton by her parents ensured she never stopped fighting for better conditions.

"When I was on lots of boards and things, I was the only Aboriginal person on. So I pushed to have at least one other voice, because when you're sitting at a table with all these people who work at this national or state level, it can be quite intimidating for some, and we are more than one voice," she said.

"I was very fortunate my parents instilled in me that I knew I was not better than anyone else, but no one else was better than me which. So this enabled me to be able to have a voice."

She went on to deliver a speech at Parliament to launch the Australian Rural Healthcare textbook.

Mrs Creighton has compiled a long list of accolades throughout her career, but she made sure to emphasise that many Indigenous families and elders have made similar contributions to their communities.

What makes her proudest is knowing the next generation is continuing the good fight.

"My standouts in my life is the fact that I have two amazingly strong children who are now working for health as well," she said.

"My son, Daniel, manages the mental health safe haven and my daughter, Sarah, is an Aboriginal Health Worker, who's going on to do nursing. My grandchildren have all grown up strong in culture and strong in who they are, and proud of who they are.

"The standout in my life is when someone comes up and sits next to me and says, 'You gave me my strength and my start'. Because then I know that the next generation are keeping the fight going."

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