For eight Wiradjuri elders, a childhood spent under the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board brought the threat of poverty, being torn from their families and placed into state care.

Now their stories of resilience and strength in the face of tragedy have been penned with a major purpose; to ignite pride and better understanding of their ancestors for young mob.

Stan Grant Snr, Lorraine Tye, Elaine Lomas, Cheryl Penrith, James Ingram,

Mary Atkinson, Isabel Reid and Norman Little want their collective anthology Growing up Wiradjuri to pass down these stories to future generations of Elders.

"I think it's wonderful, our stories need to go out there, stories about Indigenous people

Growing Up Wiradjuri editor Dr Anita Heiss with a copy of the book. image provided

weren't told in the schools and that, so I think that it's a start and we've been waiting a long time for this but I think things are moving very quickly at the moment," Aunty Isabel Reid said.

"Our voices were there but they weren't really heard."

Despite the struggles forced onto them, the book also outlines the points to celebrate.

For many, their childhood also meant building strong relationships with their elders, aunts and uncles, something they hope to continue.

"Their stories are stories that haven't been heard before, and I think it's really important that in each of their voices what we also see is on the page and what readers will get is an understanding of the diversity of their voice as well," editor and Wiradjuri woman Anita Heiss said.

Growing up Wiradjuri was released in September.