Farewell Aunty Rose
Image: Aunty Rose Whittaker. Credit: John Moyle.
By JOHN MOYLE
Just when we thought that the lights of Kings Cross couldn’t get any dimmer, they shuddered again recently with the passing of Aunty Rose (Roslyn) Whittaker.
What was even more amazing about this reaction was that Rose was Aboriginal, a woman, and a street person.
Equally incredible for a figure who is the centre of such an output of loss is that very few know much about her, not the Wayside Chapel, the local police command, or even those who gave her money on a regular basis.
“She was a character of the Cross for many years,” Sen Const Sam Donni, Kings Cross Area Command said.
Rose’s people came from the Moree area in the state’s west, and as part of the stolen generation ended up with the Whittakers, a family who she regarded as being responsible for her education, impeccable diction, and considerable vocabulary.
She was also cunning and capable of being vindictive to those who she considered had given her offence.
Over the twenty or so years that Rose inhabited the streets of Kings Cross, Rose became highly skilled at navigating the many services that the area offers, especially the Wayside Chapel and the accommodation agencies.
Even though Rose was placed in various housing options in the Inner West, Edgecliff and Wolloomooloo, she would soon revert to living on the street, citing claustrophobia as being one of many reasons for abandoning her new homes.
Her preferred location was around the Metro Theatre, where she would defend her patch from interlopers with considerable vigour.
“I have known Rosie for many years, starting with when I had Una’s,” Maggie Haus, restaurateur, said.
“She was pretty cunning and would come in and get a takeaway and then sell it, so I made her sit down and eat it.”
Constable Donni said, “She was a bit of a devil too sometimes.”
Rose would often dump her meagre belongings with unsuspecting shop owners and then abuse them the next day for closing before she could retrieve them.
In his 2013 book Kings Cross: a biography, local author Louis Nowra wrote at considerable length about Rose’s modus operandi, describing a relationship that was adversarial before they both accommodated each other’s personalities.
“Her targets are couples, especially young professionals who are in the early stages of dating…few of the men fail to give her money… as they want to look charitable in the eyes of their girlfriends.” Nowra wrote.
Just before Covid, Rose announced that she wanted to return to her children in Inverell, in the state’s far north.
A well-meaning citizen using the Potts Pointer’s Facebook page raised close to $1,000 to help her get there, only to be surprised when he saw her outside Woolworths a couple of weeks later.
For all of her confrontations, most forgave her the moment she flashed her cheeky smile or said a few kind words.
The Wayside Chapel’s ambassador David Wenham was shocked and saddened as he posted his tribute to Rose on the Wayside’s page early this week.
Video used by permission of the wayside Chapel.
