John Wood was a member of the Stolen Generations. He was removed from his mother soon after his birth and spent most of his childhood years in institutions and foster homes. Wood lived at the Salvation Army Home for Boys in Brisbane from the age of fourteen to nineteen years old, then went to work for a farmer who provided a supportive environment. Wood found information about his father and met relatives but has never been able to locate his mother.
Wood's story was recorded by the National Library of Australia for the Bringing Them Home oral history project and appeared in the associated publication Many Voices: Reflections on experiences of Indigenous child separation, edited by Doreen Mellor and Anna Haebich (2002).