The voices of students about the early days of Indigenous-controlled adult education providers are hard to find. In historical research for Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative Ltd (Tranby) and the University of Technology Sydney, 17 former participants in Tranby courses, from 1980 to 2000, gave in-depth interviews, which were analysed alongside Tranby's archival holdings for the first two decades under Indigenous Chief Executive Officers and Board Chairs. In addition, we interviewed one person first enrolled in 1979 and three enrolled between 2010 and 2013. Tranby drew students from across the country, with goals ranging from improving their literacy, to building skills for community roles, accessing further education or gaining promotion. Informal interviews with seven former Tranby teachers added information on subject design and teaching strategies. The former students' interviews focused on Tranby's atmosphere and learning environment, strongly valuing the perspectives they learned from their fellow Indigenous students. Most felt that, while formal course work was helpful, it had been these contextual and informal experiences which were most useful in building their confidence and skills for later careers.