Adele Meredith
Adele was born in Reutlingen, Germany in 1946. She arrived in Australia with her mother, Lucy Bozic, in 1950 at 4 years of age and was immediately placed in St Theresa's orphanage in Essendon.
Ward of the state
I could only stay at St Theresa’s until I was 8 years old and so then I was sent to the Good Shepherd convent in Abbotsford. I was there until 16 and a half as a ward of the state.
Those were not easy years. The only time you could go in the dormitories was when it was time to go to bed and then the nun would lock that door and off she would go to her own cell and you were left in a locked room.
The Lebensborn Program
My mother’s family was murdered by the Nazis and she was chosen for her "aryan" beauty to be a part of the lebensborn program. Lebensborn literally means "Fount of Life" which was an SS-initiated, state-supported, registered association in Nazi Germany with the goal of raising the birth rate of “Aryan” children.
I only found out about the truth of my birth when the Federal police came to tell me that Lucy Bozic was dying and she was asking for me. It was November 16, 1984. I was 38 years of age and I hadn't seen my mother since I was 4 years old. I thought she was dead.
She was living in Byron street just around the corner from the Good Shepherd. I looked after her until she died. As a Lebensborn woman, she had tattooed, under her left arm, a swastika, her initials LB and the number 92. She was 17 when she was made to join the SS. That’s why I drew my LIFE poster.
Harpin' Momma, Adele Meredith, Abbotsford, Abbotsford Convent. Photo: Lentil as Anything,
‘Queen of the Blues’
I moved from the convent to the YWCA at 16 and a half, and did a secretarial course. I’ve been a secretary, a florist, and a muso.
Mother Teresa played the piano accordion and when she died, she left it to me – that’s how I started to make music.
Then once, when I was at Abbotsford Convent, I was fostered by a Maltese family for a holiday. The father played the mouth organ. When I was leaving, I started to cry and he said, "Wait, before you go, I'll give you a present" and he gave me the harmonica.
So Harpin’ Momma was born! In 1999 I was named ‘Queen of the Blues’ by the South Australian Blues Society and made the Harmonica Queen of Australia.
Adele’s story was part of the Boroondara Council presentation of Telling Tales at the Hawthorn Arts Centre in 2016.