Family, friends and the state of Victoria said their farewells to Aunty Fay Carter OAM on Wednesday, at a state funeral on Dja Dja Wurrung country — her grandfather's country.

A Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman, fondly known by many as Guka (meaning grandmother), Aunty Fay's life was celebrated by her children, Rodney, and Wendy; her grandchildren, Drew, Joshua, Natasha, Neane, Rodney Jnr and James; all her extended family, and a congregation of hundreds in Bendigo.

She passed away at the end of last month, aged 89.

Aunty Fay was born on a porch at Echuca Hospital on Yorta Yorta Country - due to Aboriginal women not being permitted in the maternity ward at the time - in 1935.

Her family and friends spoke of her kindness, of her love, born from her own grandmother's words: "One day they will understand us".

Her son, Rodney Carter, spoke of his mother being served last, being forced to wait until every white person had been served.

"You've shared so many of your memories with me, and sometimes with tears in your eyes because of your sadness, but you have given me your wisdom, your tolerance and your love," Mr Carter said.

"You speak of your life with happiness and tell us to be thankful for being at all, understanding that our existence is right and proper, because the old people before us were beautiful people."

Her grandchildren spoke of their grandmother's strength, including stories about her life on the flats and the marginalisation faced by Aboriginal people.

"Guka's left a lasting legacy, a legacy that hasn't gone unnoticed," they said.

These included having hessian bags and branches placed on the side of the road when the British Royal Family passed by, so "they wouldn't see the way our people lived".

"For too long, our community has been dispossessed, marginalised and unloved, by Australia. Guka worked tirelessly in the Aboriginal community to change that narrative," one of her grandchildren told the gathering.

She lived on the Cummeragunja Mission in NSW until she was four, when her family took part in the walk-off protest against its mismanagement.

They settled along the Goulburn River, outside Mooroopna, with other families who left the mission.

Her sister, Marlene Burchill, said their Elders installed in them a strong sense of social justice, a very strong work ethic, as well as honesty and fairness in their early lives.

"As a result of their teaching, they taught us confidence, to walk the talk, 'be proud of your Aboriginality,'" Aunty Marlene said.

"They taught us about our pathways through passing down stories to us, setting us up on a path to prosperity and success."

Aunty Fay was celebrated for a life spent advocating for the Indigenous community, including across the Aborigines Advancement League (AAL), NAIDOC and the Victoria Aboriginal Child Care Agency (ACES) — which she helped establish in 1992.

"Your journey of work and caring for others led you to social service, and I recall the pride you had in yourself when you achieved the diploma of Social Work, and now you were going to spend a large part of your life in Aboriginal Affairs to help our people," Mr Carter said.

Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta man Trent Nelson gave the Welcome to Country, and told the congregation Aunty Fay was the matriarch of the family.

"She was that link up," Mr Nelson said, "she was an amazing person."

"She touched everyone's hearts."

He underlined the importance of the smoking ceremony which took place before the funeral, noting: "Aunt's on a journey at the moment, she's on a journey from this lifetime into her next lifetime".

"It's time Aunt and you're ready … that smoke that's there, you will follow that smoke back home."

Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung artist, Tiriki Onus, delivered the eulogy, telling the congregation it was one of the greatest honours of his life, eclipsed only by the honour of knowing Aunty Fay.

"It seems naive to think that something as paltry and simple as passing from this world could stop the stories and the strength; the force of nature that was Aunty Fay Carter," Mr Onus said.

"So, I invite you all to be swept up in that, be part of those stories; carry them forward."

Mr Onus spoke of Aunty Fay's legacy, including withdrawing money from her super to pay her wage when the money at ACES ran out.

"She was never reimbursed, I don't know if she even asked for reimbursement," Mr Onus said. "But as Wendy so clearly and eloquently said: 'That was mummy'".

Aunty Fay was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001, inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2004 and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll in 2013.

In 2019, she received the Order of Australia for her commitment to the development and implementation of culturally relevant programs for Indigenous people.

Premier Jacinta Allan spoke to the hundreds of mourners in Bendigo, noting when Aunty Fay was born on that verandah, she may not have believed all the tributes, people, and stories about her achievements in the room.

"That failure of imagination we know, of course, wasn't hers, but rather the world in which she was born into," Premier Allan said.

"It was a time we know when the segregation of Aboriginal people was not just accepted, but encouraged, sanctioned and carried out by the state."

In 2013, Aunty Fay was involved in negotiations that achieved a landmark Native Title settlement, formally recognising the Dja Dja Wurrung People as the Traditional Owners of their lands in Central Victoria.

The Premier said it was one of the most significant agreements of its kind in the state's history.

"It's that kind of progress that that little girl from Mooroopna could have only dreamed of," she said.

On Thursday, Aunty Fay will go to Yorta Yorta Country - her grandmother's country - for a final farewell.