Gillian Kennedy first encountered Wade Freeman while working in the isolated Mulan Aboriginal community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 2007, after a year volunteering in Bangladesh and a brief return to Sydney, she took a teaching job in this remote desert settlement of just 120 people.
A Lonely Start
The first term was challenging. Gillian got along well with her housemate Kylie and met friendly nurses and locals from surrounding areas, but without access to a vehicle, weekends were spent working. She felt lonely and isolated. She had heard about Wade, the coordinator of a nearby Indigenous protected area program, but he was not around during her first term.
Returning to Sydney for school holidays, Gillian was uncertain about going back to the desert, but she had committed to a two-year contract. Early in the second term, she bumped into Wade at the community store. With his wild red hair, he seemed friendly and kind. He invited her and Kylie for afternoon tea that Saturday.
The First Spark
When they arrived, several things clicked. Wade had a vegetable garden, was playing Cat Empire and French music—just her kind of playlist. He had volunteered in Timor-Leste and studied community development. And he was baking banana bread. “The bread was terrible,” Gillian recalls, “but the wholesome act of baking and sharing it, along with everything else I saw and heard, made me start to fall for him.”
She realised then that Wade was capable and independent, and they shared many interests. He offered to take them to a nearby lake with his Troopy and a kayak. They picnicked and watched the sunset over the lake, which was full and teeming with birdlife. They kayaked to magical spots to camp and enjoy sundowners.
A Candlelit Kiss
One night, Gillian mentioned a documentary she wanted to watch. Wade invited her over, made chai, and they watched together. The next day, he invited her again to watch videos, and then a blackout occurred. He lit candles, and that was the moment they first kissed.
“I wasn’t expecting to find a partner at that time or place in my life,” she says, “but he was living a lifestyle I wanted to share.”
Building a Life Together
Gillian came to love how Wade creates beautiful experiences for others. In Mulan, he organised film nights at the lake, setting up a big screen with a generator. “He’s a bit of an introvert, but doing these sorts of things is his love language,” she explains. She ended up staying in the desert for two more years because of how beautiful he made life there.
In 2009, Wade got a job in Oecusse, a remote part of Timor-Leste. Gillian became pregnant, and they moved to Broome to raise their son, Bertie. They lived there for 12 years before relocating to Fremantle, where they now reside.
A Resourceful Partner
Wade is an amazing father who built a massive jungle playground with swings and rope bridges in their backyard. “He’s hands-on and very fun,” Gillian says. “It never ceases to amaze me how resourceful he is. He can fix things and make something out of nothing. He’s a bit like MacGyver.”
Soon they will celebrate 20 years together. They share a commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability and are passionate about creating community. “We’ve always supported each other to do what we want to do,” Gillian reflects. “I’ve always felt very trusting of Wade and secure in our relationship.”
“We were never going to find each other in a bar in the city,” she concludes. “The fact that we found each other in a community of 120 people feels as though it was meant to be.”
