It's been many years since Uncle Farley Garlett walked the halls of Parliament House as an elected representative for the Noongar people. He stands on the steps to the entrance and reflects how it was the humble newspaper that helped him get here.

When he was a child, his grandfather's idea of a good education was learning to count to a hundred and writing your name. 

Although Farley was smart enough to win a bursary to go to school in Perth, school did nothing for him, so he left to go to work.

But he always had a passion for learning, for knowledge. He would grab the daily newspaper his stepfather would bring home and read it front to back. It taught him to talk like a politician.

"I had to learn the language to be able to discuss things with them. If I couldn't speak the language, they were never going to understand what I was talking about. It helped me to navigate the white man's world and control it in some ways."

Farley Garlett has spent a big part of his life in public service. He's the former WA Chair and National Commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, the national body set up to represent First Nations people in government.

Through these state and national roles, Farley would regularly sit down with the leaders of this country. He had fortnightly meetings with the Premier of Western Australia and the Commissioner of Police. He would travel to Canberra for meetings with the Prime Minister and federal ministers. He would meet with powerful, influential people all over the country trying to pave a better path forward for First Nations people. 

But not once could he get a meeting with the Lord Mayor in his hometown of Perth.

Farley Garlett might not have been able to get a foot in the door of Council House back then, but he's sure made up for it now as one of ten Elders on the City of Perth's Elders' Advisory Group.

These days he's not only in the building, he's on the top floor making changes.

"From a kid on the reserves, to the halls of power – a big journey and an interesting journey, but it was a journey I never felt daunted about. It was like I needed to get in there and show them just how good us blackfellas are."

Written by Michelle White 

Produced by Community Arts Network during the Ngaluk Waangkiny project. 

can.org.au/ngaluk-waangkiny