'I think that the role of the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Aboriginal heritage and protection and culture is much richer in New South Wales for the efforts put in by Shoonkley Tiger Ray. I don’t think that at the time, because of the uniqueness of it, and a lack of understanding of people in the service, that would have occurred without his diligence and passion and persistence [John Delaney in Kijas 2005:105].
'Ray Kelly was a man of many parts. Passionate about the traditions of his people, a boxer and potato digger, a seeker of the meaning of life and a pioneer in the work of reuniting the Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales with their cultural heritages. Ray was a Dunghutti man from the McLeay River. He had both the privilege and the privation of growing up on the Bellbrook mission near Kempsey — always for him the heart of his Country.' (Introduction)
