Mrs Getchell, 77, of Neath, was a State ward at Parramatta Girls’ Home from 1945 to 1950, from age 13 to 18.

She has written and published her first book of personal memoirs called The Pea Picker’s Daughter.

Upon meeting her, I felt her powerful spirit and a great strength that shone through her warm, caring demeanour.

One of nine children, Mrs Getchell was separated from her father and siblings after her mother died and she became imprisoned at a girls’ home.

She became one of the 500,000 forgotten Australians who were institutionalised, neglected, abused and forgotten during the 20th century.

After attending Monday’s public apology ceremony in Canberra, Mrs Getchell went back to the now abandoned buildings of the Parramatta Girls’ Home for the third time.

“It was the same as a prison. I didn’t know where my family was or what they were doing. I was only 13 when I arrived there,” she said.

“Everything in my book is true, but no one believed it until now.”

Mrs Getchell said it took less than a year to write her story.

“It is part of the healing. It will help me move on and make the best of the time I have left.

“At least now we are believed, what happened to us in these institutions, it was the best kept secret in the world.”

Mrs Getchell grew up without love or affection. She had no one to talk to, to touch or to ask for support.

“There can never be a repeat of this. I never want to see children locked up like we were. They need to be cared for by decent people.

“I am not expecting any compensation. We can’t fix the world with money. But I do want to see some counselling for all the forgotten Australians who still feel depression and guilt.

“They are not to blame, it is not their fault, and they were put there for all sorts of reasons, from poverty to tragedy.