Lily Johnson was taken from her family on Go Go station in 1922 when she was nine or ten years old. After marrying a man named Fred Johnson she made her way back to Go Go Station where she was reunited with her mother. Her mother didn't know where she had been taken or whether she was still alive. Her father, who was a horse breaker, was named Sam; he died in an accident. Her sister, who was 2 years old when she was taken away, was sent to Moore River Native Settlement. Her brother Bruce was also sent to Mogumber after being sent to Moola-bulla.