He had kept it buried deep, a secret only revealed by her uncle that fateful day as he remembered his late brother.
For Felicia, it was like the puzzle pieces finally fit.
“It suddenly made sense,” she said.
“I finally understood why my father had been so disconnected.
“But it's so hard for survivors to talk about it.”
Yesterday, a small group led by Felicia, gathered for a ‘healing walk’ along The Flats in the Goulburn River bushland.
The walk was held to observe National Sorry Day, which was launched in 1998 following the release of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report.
It aims to provide a voice for mistreated Aboriginal people and the children who were forcibly removed from their families as a result of various government policies between 1910 and 1970.
This year, the day holds an added layer of significance for Felicia, as it's the 50th anniversary of the closure of Kinchela Boys Home, one of the most notorious institutions associated with the Stolen Generations.
From 1924 to 1970, between 400 and 600 boys were incarcerated there, enduring a harsh and hostile environment which included physical labour, punishment and even abuse.
Her father, Robert Peters, was among them; removed from his family when Felicia's grandfather died after falling off the Mooroopna water tower.
“It's just heartbreaking for me, because my father died in 1997 — he never got to hear The National Apology to the Stolen Generations,” Felicia said.
“He never got to see the Bringing Them Home report.”
Felicia is now the director of Maya Living Free Healing Association, an organisation with a clear message — stop moving the children and start healing the families.
“Today's healing walk is both about reflection and looking forward,” she said.
“By educating people on the past and developing hope for the future, we can find true reconciliation.”
Former Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative chief executive Lee Joachim said the tremors from the Stolen Generation could still be felt today.
“There are people from the original Stolen Generation still looking for their families,” he said.
“The intergenerational trauma that comes from that is unbelievable. And it's far from over.
“The assimilation policy that you need to forget you're Aboriginal continues to this day.”
Shepparton's Dawn McGee said she had seen this firsthand.
Although not Aboriginal herself, Dawn has been married for 50 years to her husband, Brian McGee, a Yorta Yorta man who is also a Stolen Generation survivor.
She's witnessed his pain from the past, which has subsequently trickled through the generations of her family.
“Children are still being taken from their families and denied their right to know their Aboriginal culture,” she said.
“I just didn't think that could still happen in this era. It's heartbreaking.”
Felicia said Aboriginal people needed more input in the policies that affected them before true healing could be reached.
“We need governments to have more conversations with grassroots people,” she said.
“Because children are still being removed at an alarmingly high rate.”
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