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First Nations:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Literature
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT:
The Dhurga Dictionary and Learner's Grammar
The Dhurga Dictionary and Learners Grammar: A South-East Coast NSW Aboriginal Language is an overdue and extremely valuable resource for the Dhurga speaking people of Yuin Country and of any person wanting to learn the traditional language. The Dhurga language is spoken from south of Nowra to Narooma and west to Braidwood and Araluen. This publication is the most concise compilation of the Dhurga language to date with over 730 words including informant and recorder details as validation of authenticity. The dictionary is user-friendly for all literacy levels and readers, it is the very first of its kind and in high demand.
G Is for Gugunyal
A Dhurga Alphabet Book
G is for Gugunyal: A Dhurga alphabet book helps new speakers pronounce the 24 sounds used in Dhurga language. It complements The Dhurga Dictionary and Learner’s Grammar: A south-east coast NSW Aboriginal language.
Dhurga is one of four traditional languages of the south coast of New South Wales. It was spoken by Yuin (Yuwinj) people between Nowra and Narooma, and as far inland as Braidwood and Araluen. Our language connects us to our people and our physical world. Traditional languages are being reclaimed and spoken across Australia. Fragments of Dhurga were kept by Elders and in books. Dhurga was sleeping; but is now being taught, learned and spoken by Yuin people.
The beautiful illustrations help readers to learn the 24 Dhurga sounds. They also introduce important land and marine animals, and other creatures of the south coast that are part of local creation and dreaming stories, and Lore.
A QR code allows readers to hear the book’s Dhurga sounds and words spoken by a Yuin Elder.
The Welcome to Country Handbook
The Welcome to Country Handbook by Professor Marcia Langton AO is your accessible introduction to First Nations Peoples, histories and cultures. Drawn from the bestselling Welcome to Country, this guide is essential reading for every Australian, and an excellent resource for cultural awareness training in the workplace or classroom.
The chapters cover precolonial and post-colonial history, language, kinship, knowledge, art, performance, storytelling, native title, the Stolen Generations, making a rightful place for First Australians and looking to the future for Indigenous Australia. A new introduction as well as a chapter on racism has been written especially for this handbook, and all information has been checked and updated.
Looking through these pages, photos and reading Professor Langton’s profound words, you will quickly appreciate how lucky we are to be the home of the world’s oldest continuing civilisation – which is both diverse and thriving in Australia today.
WHAT'S NEW:
Ask Aunty: Seasons, Munya Andrews, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis
Ask Aunty: Seasons is a delightful and educational picture book for children aged 5 to 10 years that introduces First Nations seasonal calendars.
Have you ever been excited for the first day of summer, only to be disappointed when it arrives cold and rainy? For First Nations People, the seasons don’t change when the calendar does. Instead, we can look for changes in plants, animals, water, weather and the stars to mark the start of a new season.
Aunty Munya explains how there are six seasons on her Country. Mankal is the rainy season, bringing strong winds from the ocean, while Barrgan is the season when bush fruits are most plentiful.
With stunning illustrations by Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, Ask Aunty: Seasons encourages all readers to develop a deeper connection with the land, waters and sky.
Have you ever been excited for the first day of summer, only to be disappointed when it arrives cold and rainy? For First Nations People, the seasons don’t change when the calendar does. Instead, we can look for changes in plants, animals, water, weather and the stars to mark the start of a new season.
Aunty Munya explains how there are six seasons on her Country. Mankal is the rainy season, bringing strong winds from the ocean, while Barrgan is the season when bush fruits are most plentiful.
With stunning illustrations by Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, Ask Aunty: Seasons encourages all readers to develop a deeper connection with the land, waters and sky.
Bennelong And Phillip, Kate Fullagar
The first dual biography of Bennelong and Governor Arthur Phillip, two pivotal figures in Australian history – the colonised and coloniser – and a bold and innovative new portrait of both.
Bennelong and Phillip were leaders of their two sides in the first encounters between Britain and Indigenous Australians, Phillip the colony’s first governor, and Bennelong the Eora leader. The pair have come to represent the conflict that flared and has never settled.
Fullargar’s account is also the first full biography of Bennelong of any kind and it challenges many misconceptions, among them that he became alienated from his people and that Phillip was a paragon of Enlightenment benevolence. It tells the story of the men’s marriages, including Bennelong’s best-known wife, Barangaroo, and Phillip’s unusual domestic arrangements, and places the period in the context of the Aboriginal world and the demands of empire.
To present this history afresh, Bennelong & Phillip relates events in reverse, moving beyond the limitations of typical Western ways of writing about the past, which have long privileged the coloniser over the colonised. Bennelong’s world was hardly linear at all, and in Fullagar’s approach his and Phillip’s histories now share an equally unfamiliar framing.
Bennelong and Phillip were leaders of their two sides in the first encounters between Britain and Indigenous Australians, Phillip the colony’s first governor, and Bennelong the Eora leader. The pair have come to represent the conflict that flared and has never settled.
Fullargar’s account is also the first full biography of Bennelong of any kind and it challenges many misconceptions, among them that he became alienated from his people and that Phillip was a paragon of Enlightenment benevolence. It tells the story of the men’s marriages, including Bennelong’s best-known wife, Barangaroo, and Phillip’s unusual domestic arrangements, and places the period in the context of the Aboriginal world and the demands of empire.
To present this history afresh, Bennelong & Phillip relates events in reverse, moving beyond the limitations of typical Western ways of writing about the past, which have long privileged the coloniser over the colonised. Bennelong’s world was hardly linear at all, and in Fullagar’s approach his and Phillip’s histories now share an equally unfamiliar framing.
Country Tells Us When… (Yawuru Edition), Tsheena Cooper, Mary Dann, Dalisa Pigram-Ross, Sheree Ford
Some cultures around the world have four seasons that they look out for on a calendar; Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.
Us Yawuru mob, we don't have four seasons that are told to us by a calendar. We have six seasons and Country tells us when they have arrived by what we feel, see, taste, smell and hear.
Discover how the Yawuru people read the seasons in this beautifully illustrated book.
Us Yawuru mob, we don't have four seasons that are told to us by a calendar. We have six seasons and Country tells us when they have arrived by what we feel, see, taste, smell and hear.
Discover how the Yawuru people read the seasons in this beautifully illustrated book.
Edenglassie, Melissa Lucashenko
Two extraordinary Indigenous stories set five generations apart.
When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice.
Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Grannie Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.
In this brilliant epic, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland's colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.
When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice.
Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Grannie Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.
In this brilliant epic, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland's colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.
Giinagay Gaagal, Hello Ocean, Melissa Greenwood
An ode to happy days spent by the ocean, from Gumbaynggirr artist Melissa Greenwood, the creator of the heart-stirring picture books Miimi Marraal, Mother Earth and My Little Barlaagany.
Gaagal (ocean) is our special place,
we love to swim in the waves.
We'll catch some yamaarr (fish),
eat, dance and play games.
An ode to joyful days spent by the ocean, from Gumbaynggirr artist Melissa Greenwood, the creator of the heart-stirring picture books Miimi Marraal, Mother Earth and My Little Barlaagany (Sunshine).
Gaagal (ocean) is our special place,
we love to swim in the waves.
We'll catch some yamaarr (fish),
eat, dance and play games.
An ode to joyful days spent by the ocean, from Gumbaynggirr artist Melissa Greenwood, the creator of the heart-stirring picture books Miimi Marraal, Mother Earth and My Little Barlaagany (Sunshine).
In My Blood It Runs, Dujuan Hoosan
This is the story of Dujuan Hoosan, a 10-year-old Arrernte and Garawa boy. A wise, funny, cheeky boy. A healer.
Out bush, his healing power (Ngangkere) is calm and straight. But in town, it's wobbly and wild, like a snake.
He's in trouble at school, and with the police. He thinks there's something wrong with him.
Dujuan's family knows what to do: they send him to live out bush, to learn the ways of the old people, and the history that runs straight into all Aboriginal people.
So he can be proud of himself.
Illustrated by Blak Douglas, winner of the Archibald Prize 2022
Out bush, his healing power (Ngangkere) is calm and straight. But in town, it's wobbly and wild, like a snake.
He's in trouble at school, and with the police. He thinks there's something wrong with him.
Dujuan's family knows what to do: they send him to live out bush, to learn the ways of the old people, and the history that runs straight into all Aboriginal people.
So he can be proud of himself.
Illustrated by Blak Douglas, winner of the Archibald Prize 2022
Songlines: First Knowledges For Younger Readers, Margo Neale, Lynne Kelly
How do you find your way around, get your food and drink, connect with your friends and
family? How do you know the right and safe way to do things, or how to make things? Before the white people came to the continent, all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples knew how to do all these things - and much, much more.
Margo Ngawa Neale and Lynne Kelly invite you on a journey through the oldest, biggest library of knowledge on Earth. This knowledge isn't held in books: you will find it in Songlines of the land, sea and sky.
Learn about history, art, song, science and more in this engaging and inviting introduction to Indigenous traditional knowledges, how they apply today and how they can help all people thrive into the future.
family? How do you know the right and safe way to do things, or how to make things? Before the white people came to the continent, all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples knew how to do all these things - and much, much more.
Margo Ngawa Neale and Lynne Kelly invite you on a journey through the oldest, biggest library of knowledge on Earth. This knowledge isn't held in books: you will find it in Songlines of the land, sea and sky.
Learn about history, art, song, science and more in this engaging and inviting introduction to Indigenous traditional knowledges, how they apply today and how they can help all people thrive into the future.
Songs From The Kitchen Table, Archie Roach
The ultimate illustrated commemoration of iconic Australian musicians, Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter – including lyrics, stories, photographs and tributes.
A year after he entered the Dreamtime, Archie Roach’s spirit continues to soar, much like the wedge-tailed eagle – his totem animal from his mother's ancestral lands. Archie's songs stand as anthems for the experience of dispossession, and have touched the lives of many with their empathetic message of shared humanity.
Songs from the Kitchen Table is a tribute to the power of Archie’s voice, and to the career he built with his life partner and musical collaborator, Ruby Hunter. This beautiful, illustrated volume contains the lyrics to over 100 of their songs, carefully curated by Archie's manager and friend, Jill Shelton: from Archie’s breathtaking early works ‘Took the Children Away’ and ‘Charcoal Lane’, to the timeless classics ‘Tell Me Why’ and Ruby’s ‘Down City Streets’, to his final masterpiece ‘One Song’. The songs are accompanied by stories about their composition; rare photographs; handwritten lyrics; album covers and artwork; and heartfelt tributes to Archie and Ruby from fans and fellow musicians.
With forewords by their long-time friends Paul Kelly and Emma Donovan, Songs from the Kitchen Table is a celebration of one of Australia’s great creative partnerships, and a tribute to the ongoing power of plain-spoken truths.
A year after he entered the Dreamtime, Archie Roach’s spirit continues to soar, much like the wedge-tailed eagle – his totem animal from his mother's ancestral lands. Archie's songs stand as anthems for the experience of dispossession, and have touched the lives of many with their empathetic message of shared humanity.
Songs from the Kitchen Table is a tribute to the power of Archie’s voice, and to the career he built with his life partner and musical collaborator, Ruby Hunter. This beautiful, illustrated volume contains the lyrics to over 100 of their songs, carefully curated by Archie's manager and friend, Jill Shelton: from Archie’s breathtaking early works ‘Took the Children Away’ and ‘Charcoal Lane’, to the timeless classics ‘Tell Me Why’ and Ruby’s ‘Down City Streets’, to his final masterpiece ‘One Song’. The songs are accompanied by stories about their composition; rare photographs; handwritten lyrics; album covers and artwork; and heartfelt tributes to Archie and Ruby from fans and fellow musicians.
With forewords by their long-time friends Paul Kelly and Emma Donovan, Songs from the Kitchen Table is a celebration of one of Australia’s great creative partnerships, and a tribute to the ongoing power of plain-spoken truths.
Spread Your Wings, Emma Dodd
A heartwarming book about growing up and exploring the world around you
A beautiful new book from international bestseller Emma Dodd, focusing on embracing new adventures.
As we snuggle here together,
gazing at the sky,
I know that soon the day will come
when you'll spread your wings and fly.
A baby cockatoo learns that there is a big wide world out there to explore.
The perfect gift for young and old, this uplifting and reassuring book with stunning art celebrates growing up and discovering new adventures.
A beautiful new book from international bestseller Emma Dodd, focusing on embracing new adventures.
As we snuggle here together,
gazing at the sky,
I know that soon the day will come
when you'll spread your wings and fly.
A baby cockatoo learns that there is a big wide world out there to explore.
The perfect gift for young and old, this uplifting and reassuring book with stunning art celebrates growing up and discovering new adventures.
The Heartbeat of the Land, Cathy Freeman, Coral Vass, Tannya Harricks
**Shortlisted for the 2023 Karajia Award for Children's Literature**
Age range 0 to 3
Cathy ran barefoot every day across the great ancient land,
as her people had done for sixty thousand years before.
And when she ran, she could hear the heartbeat of the land.
Ba Boom Ba Boom Ba Boom...
Then one day, Cathy hears a cry.
She answers this cry and, with one small step at a time, the seeds of change are planted.
Cathy Freeman has always been an inspiration to young people.
Here, she does it again, through storytelling - just as her people have done, for sixty thousand years before...
Listen, and you too, will hear the Heartbeat of the Land.
Age range 0 to 3
Cathy ran barefoot every day across the great ancient land,
as her people had done for sixty thousand years before.
And when she ran, she could hear the heartbeat of the land.
Ba Boom Ba Boom Ba Boom...
Then one day, Cathy hears a cry.
She answers this cry and, with one small step at a time, the seeds of change are planted.
Cathy Freeman has always been an inspiration to young people.
Here, she does it again, through storytelling - just as her people have done, for sixty thousand years before...
Listen, and you too, will hear the Heartbeat of the Land.
The Visitors, Jane Harrison
The most exciting debut in 2023, The Visitors is an audacious, earthy, funny, gritty and powerful re-imagining of a crucial moment in Australia's history - an unputdownable work of fiction.
On a steamy, hot day in January 1788, seven Aboriginal men, representing the nearby clans, gather at Warrane. Several newly arrived ships have been sighted in the great bay to the south, Kamay. The men meet to discuss their response to these visitors. All day, they talk, argue, debate. Where are the visitors from? What do they want? Might they just warra warra wai back to where they came from? Should they be welcomed? Or should they be made to leave? The decision of the men must be unanimous -- and will have far-reaching implications for all. Throughout the day, the weather is strange, with mammatus clouds, unbearable heat and a pending thunderstorm ... Somewhere, trouble is brewing.
From award-winning author and playwright Jane Harrison, The Visitors is an audacious, earthy, funny, gritty and powerful re-imagining of a crucial moment in Australia's history - and an unputdownable work of fiction.
'A remarkable achievement of First Nations storytelling. We live in a time when truths need to be told and heard - this is a generous offering, a story that challenges and ultimately rewards us' Tony Birch, author of The White Girl
'A work of soaring imagination and breathtaking ambition. Jane Harrison upends all our black-and-white assumptions about what happened on that fateful January day in 1788 when eleven tall ships sailed into a safe blue harbour that people already called home. Surprisingly funny, cheeky and tragic by turns, this remarkable novel is bold, brave and unforgettable' Clare Wright, author of You Daughters of Freedom
'Witty, tense, and gut-wrenching ... [it] pulled me inexorably towards a place of profound emotion' Grace Chan, author of Every Version of You
'Intimate, tense, but inviting ... the end of the book is devastating, and even though we know what's coming, we're hopeful for a different ending. The Visitors offers a deep emotional journey. Harrison has written a thoughtful and powerful reimagining of a significant moment in Australian history, from a First Nations perspective.' Books+Publishing
On a steamy, hot day in January 1788, seven Aboriginal men, representing the nearby clans, gather at Warrane. Several newly arrived ships have been sighted in the great bay to the south, Kamay. The men meet to discuss their response to these visitors. All day, they talk, argue, debate. Where are the visitors from? What do they want? Might they just warra warra wai back to where they came from? Should they be welcomed? Or should they be made to leave? The decision of the men must be unanimous -- and will have far-reaching implications for all. Throughout the day, the weather is strange, with mammatus clouds, unbearable heat and a pending thunderstorm ... Somewhere, trouble is brewing.
From award-winning author and playwright Jane Harrison, The Visitors is an audacious, earthy, funny, gritty and powerful re-imagining of a crucial moment in Australia's history - and an unputdownable work of fiction.
'A remarkable achievement of First Nations storytelling. We live in a time when truths need to be told and heard - this is a generous offering, a story that challenges and ultimately rewards us' Tony Birch, author of The White Girl
'A work of soaring imagination and breathtaking ambition. Jane Harrison upends all our black-and-white assumptions about what happened on that fateful January day in 1788 when eleven tall ships sailed into a safe blue harbour that people already called home. Surprisingly funny, cheeky and tragic by turns, this remarkable novel is bold, brave and unforgettable' Clare Wright, author of You Daughters of Freedom
'Witty, tense, and gut-wrenching ... [it] pulled me inexorably towards a place of profound emotion' Grace Chan, author of Every Version of You
'Intimate, tense, but inviting ... the end of the book is devastating, and even though we know what's coming, we're hopeful for a different ending. The Visitors offers a deep emotional journey. Harrison has written a thoughtful and powerful reimagining of a significant moment in Australian history, from a First Nations perspective.' Books+Publishing
Walk With Us: Welcome To Our Country, Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing, David Hardy
Walk With Us is inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and invites readers to find out more about the First Nations Country where they live.?From Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, former journalist Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.
Harvey and Mum are heading to their favourite park for a walk on Cammeraygal land.'Time to awaken the ancestors,' says Uncle Boris.'Every time we sing or acknowledge Country, the ancestors are listening.'
What do you know about the Country where you live?
Inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Walk With Us is an invitation to go on a journey of learning and appreciation - with family, with friends, and with our nation - together.
The bestselling Welcome to Our Country series aims to connect young children, parents and educators with First Nations history and culture.
Harvey and Mum are heading to their favourite park for a walk on Cammeraygal land.'Time to awaken the ancestors,' says Uncle Boris.'Every time we sing or acknowledge Country, the ancestors are listening.'
What do you know about the Country where you live?
Inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Walk With Us is an invitation to go on a journey of learning and appreciation - with family, with friends, and with our nation - together.
The bestselling Welcome to Our Country series aims to connect young children, parents and educators with First Nations history and culture.
Women & Children, Tony Birch
A powerful, personal novel about women and justice, from one of this country's most loved and clear-eyed storytellers.
It's 1965 and Joe Cluny is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay. As his mum and aunty work out what to do, Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. Who will help Joe's family at their time of need?
Women & Children is a novel about the love and courage between two sisters, and a sudden loss of childhood innocence.
It's 1965 and Joe Cluny is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay. As his mum and aunty work out what to do, Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. Who will help Joe's family at their time of need?
Women & Children is a novel about the love and courage between two sisters, and a sudden loss of childhood innocence.
The Broken Rainbow (Nerra: Deep Time Traveller), Tasma Walton, Samantha Campbell
“Nerra, you are the next Deep Time Traveller, as your great-grandmother was before you.” When Nerra’s great-grandmother passes away, she leaves a box of artefacts to Nerra. Nerra is drawn to the clapsticks which glow red hot, and when she picks them up, she is transported back in time. Dreaming is out of balance and a hero needs to help. Bineal and Pirnbial, husband and wife of the rainbow, have been split apart and captured by the evil Devour’ena. With the help of the Keeper of Clean Sand and Clear Water and the cleverman, Bobbinary, can Nerra reunite the rainbow and bring Dreaming back into balance?
NON-FICTION:
Big Love, Brooke Blurton
A raw, moving and uplifting memoir about courage, resilience and the transformative power of love, from one of Australia's most captivating personalities
'Powerful, heartbreaking and beautiful ... a story of incredible triumph fuelled by love and compassion' Osher Gunsberg
'Brooke Blurton is an icon for people of all generations and backgrounds. I love seeing her star shine.' Clementine Ford
My story is about the one thing that I never went without. Love. Big love, that filled me up and made me feel like there was a future for me. The kind of love that's unconditional, and that lasts across time and space ...
From the moment Brooke Blurton appeared on Australian television, she dazzled audiences with her authenticity, self-knowledge, generosity and honesty. As a proud young Noongar-Yamatji woman, Brooke's connection to her culture and country is deep, and as an openly queer woman, she knows that love is simply love. Most of all Brooke knows the importance of family, and the uplifting power of unconditional connection.
But behind the public persona Brooke presents to the world is a story of epic proportions and awe-inspiring resilience - she had to grow up fast from a very young age, surviving an extremely challenging childhood and youth, and overcoming the shocking legacy of intergenerational trauma, abuse and homelessness. She's also had to defy labels and perceptions about who she is, and her worth, all her life.
But through it all, Brooke didn't just survive, she found her voice and thrived, and in this raw, heartbreaking, often funny and ultimately life-affirming memoir, Brooke lays her journey bare about how she refused to allow the past to define her and reclaimed her own identity - and realised the power of love, for herself, for her family, and her community.
'Powerful, heartbreaking and beautiful ... a story of incredible triumph fuelled by love and compassion' Osher Gunsberg
'Brooke Blurton is an icon for people of all generations and backgrounds. I love seeing her star shine.' Clementine Ford
My story is about the one thing that I never went without. Love. Big love, that filled me up and made me feel like there was a future for me. The kind of love that's unconditional, and that lasts across time and space ...
From the moment Brooke Blurton appeared on Australian television, she dazzled audiences with her authenticity, self-knowledge, generosity and honesty. As a proud young Noongar-Yamatji woman, Brooke's connection to her culture and country is deep, and as an openly queer woman, she knows that love is simply love. Most of all Brooke knows the importance of family, and the uplifting power of unconditional connection.
But behind the public persona Brooke presents to the world is a story of epic proportions and awe-inspiring resilience - she had to grow up fast from a very young age, surviving an extremely challenging childhood and youth, and overcoming the shocking legacy of intergenerational trauma, abuse and homelessness. She's also had to defy labels and perceptions about who she is, and her worth, all her life.
But through it all, Brooke didn't just survive, she found her voice and thrived, and in this raw, heartbreaking, often funny and ultimately life-affirming memoir, Brooke lays her journey bare about how she refused to allow the past to define her and reclaimed her own identity - and realised the power of love, for herself, for her family, and her community.
Cloud Land, Penny van Oosterzee
A sweeping account of Australia's wet tropical rainforest country, from deep time to the legendary time of Australia's first peoples; from the killing times and maniacal destruction of the forests by European settlers, to the present time of growing awareness of forests as the life-force of the planet.
Wreathed in morning mist, the rainforest is a place where evolution and legend rule. Here the thunderbird once roamed, now kangaroos climb trees and towering trees strip water from clouds.
On their property on the Atherton Tablelands, Penny van Oosterzee and her husband are regenerating rainforest from paddocks, reconnecting fragments into a living corridor that will run to the Daintree and beyond. She weaves this personal experience into a sweeping account of Australia's rainforests, from their swampy birth millions of years ago to the present.
Creation stories and science bleed together for rainforest people who remember through legend the volcanic creation of the Atherton Tablelands. People They managed country for thousands of years, stitched into the patterns of the forest. Then came the European settlers and the killing times. The giant cedars were pillaged in a frenzy, and the richest rainforests in the world were cleared to make way for small unsustainable cattle farms for the settlers.
After bitterly fought battles against logging, much of Australia's remaining wet tropical rainforest is now World Heritage listed and some once again managed by Traditional Owners. Will the unique capacity of these rainforests to counteract climate change be their salvation, or will they continue to be vulnerable to exploitation for short term gain?
'I challenge anyone who starts this book to put it down without first devouring it from cover to cover'- Professor Mike Archer AM, University of New South Wales
'A delight to read' - Mike Berwick, former mayor of Douglas Shire
'Driven by a love of the wet tropical forests, Penny van Oosterzee tells their story from deep time to the present' - Libby Connors, author of Warrior
Wreathed in morning mist, the rainforest is a place where evolution and legend rule. Here the thunderbird once roamed, now kangaroos climb trees and towering trees strip water from clouds.
On their property on the Atherton Tablelands, Penny van Oosterzee and her husband are regenerating rainforest from paddocks, reconnecting fragments into a living corridor that will run to the Daintree and beyond. She weaves this personal experience into a sweeping account of Australia's rainforests, from their swampy birth millions of years ago to the present.
Creation stories and science bleed together for rainforest people who remember through legend the volcanic creation of the Atherton Tablelands. People They managed country for thousands of years, stitched into the patterns of the forest. Then came the European settlers and the killing times. The giant cedars were pillaged in a frenzy, and the richest rainforests in the world were cleared to make way for small unsustainable cattle farms for the settlers.
After bitterly fought battles against logging, much of Australia's remaining wet tropical rainforest is now World Heritage listed and some once again managed by Traditional Owners. Will the unique capacity of these rainforests to counteract climate change be their salvation, or will they continue to be vulnerable to exploitation for short term gain?
'I challenge anyone who starts this book to put it down without first devouring it from cover to cover'- Professor Mike Archer AM, University of New South Wales
'A delight to read' - Mike Berwick, former mayor of Douglas Shire
'Driven by a love of the wet tropical forests, Penny van Oosterzee tells their story from deep time to the present' - Libby Connors, author of Warrior
Crossing The Great Divide, Rod Moss
The memoirs
and paintings that Rod Moss has produced during the last 35 years are unique in
their dramatisation of the lives of his trusting Aboriginal family and have
been critically acclaimed nationally and internationally. In his third memoir
we follow the nurturing of the curiosity and openness that has fastened him to
the luminous power of Central Australia and its First Peoples. From the
foothills of Victoria's Dandenong Ranges and his city-based art education, we
are taken to the Mallee where he first embraces the climate most conducive to
his wellbeing. He returns to the city and is invited to participate in
Melbourne's dynamic experimental small school movement. A year is spent in the
USA studying the teachings of Armenian
philosopher George Gurdjieff in a rural community ‘Shenandoah’ farm setting.
Travel widens Moss’ perceptions and continues to pique his curiosity. A trip to
a Pilbra Indigenous community opens the door on the Aboriginal world that he
will spend the rest of his life coming to terms with.
In Crossing the Great Divide, Rod Moss
shows the reader through his formative years in 1950s and 1960s Victoria, and
through young adulthood in the 1970s. He weaves his experiences together with
sensitivity and a painterly eye.
and paintings that Rod Moss has produced during the last 35 years are unique in
their dramatisation of the lives of his trusting Aboriginal family and have
been critically acclaimed nationally and internationally. In his third memoir
we follow the nurturing of the curiosity and openness that has fastened him to
the luminous power of Central Australia and its First Peoples. From the
foothills of Victoria's Dandenong Ranges and his city-based art education, we
are taken to the Mallee where he first embraces the climate most conducive to
his wellbeing. He returns to the city and is invited to participate in
Melbourne's dynamic experimental small school movement. A year is spent in the
USA studying the teachings of Armenian
philosopher George Gurdjieff in a rural community ‘Shenandoah’ farm setting.
Travel widens Moss’ perceptions and continues to pique his curiosity. A trip to
a Pilbra Indigenous community opens the door on the Aboriginal world that he
will spend the rest of his life coming to terms with.
In Crossing the Great Divide, Rod Moss
shows the reader through his formative years in 1950s and 1960s Victoria, and
through young adulthood in the 1970s. He weaves his experiences together with
sensitivity and a painterly eye.
Culture is Life, A Photographic Exploration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Modern Australia, Wayne Quilliam
WINNER OF THE 2022 NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE
Culture is Life is a modern, photographic celebration of the diversity of Indigenous Australians. Pre-eminent Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam has an archive of thousands of images and interviews with Indigenous people across the country.Through the images in this stunning collection, Wayne's work explores the nuances of Indigenous thinking and identity, and focuses on how the First peoples view their place within the contemporary culture of Australia.
The people featured in Culture is Life include many high-profile Indigenous Australians, as well as community members of different ages from Tasmania to the Torres Strait, offering insights into the dreams of youth and the reflections of Elders. With various feature sections on significant events such as Sorry Day and the All Stars game, this book is an accessible gateway to better understand and appreciate the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, presented as a stunning and contemporary photo book.
Culture is Life is a modern, photographic celebration of the diversity of Indigenous Australians. Pre-eminent Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam has an archive of thousands of images and interviews with Indigenous people across the country.Through the images in this stunning collection, Wayne's work explores the nuances of Indigenous thinking and identity, and focuses on how the First peoples view their place within the contemporary culture of Australia.
The people featured in Culture is Life include many high-profile Indigenous Australians, as well as community members of different ages from Tasmania to the Torres Strait, offering insights into the dreams of youth and the reflections of Elders. With various feature sections on significant events such as Sorry Day and the All Stars game, this book is an accessible gateway to better understand and appreciate the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, presented as a stunning and contemporary photo book.
Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe
'Dark Emu injects a profound authenticity into the conversation about how we Australians understand ourcontinent...[It is] essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Australia once was, or what it might yet be if we heed the lessons of long and sophisticated human occupation.' — Judges for 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing — behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence inDark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Bruce's comments on his book compared to Gammage's: 'My book is about food production, housing construction and clothing, whereas Gammage was interested in the appearance of the country at contact. [Gammage] doesn't contest hunter gatherer labels either, whereas that is at the centre of my argument.'
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing — behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence inDark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Bruce's comments on his book compared to Gammage's: 'My book is about food production, housing construction and clothing, whereas Gammage was interested in the appearance of the country at contact. [Gammage] doesn't contest hunter gatherer labels either, whereas that is at the centre of my argument.'
Farmers Or Hunter-Gatherers?, Peter Sutton, Keryn Walshe
A groundbreaking study of pre-colonial Australia that dismantles and reframes the narratives surrounding First Nations land management and food production
Australians' understanding of Aboriginal society prior to the British invasion from 1788 has been transformed since the publication of Bruce Pascoe's Dark Emu in 2014. It argued that classical Aboriginal society was more sophisticated than Australians had been led to believe because it resembled more closely the farming communities of Europe.
In Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe ask why Australians have been so receptive to the notion that farming represents an advance from hunting and gathering. Drawing on the knowledge of Aboriginal elders, previously not included within this discussion, and decades of anthropological scholarship, Sutton and Walshe provide extensive evidence to support their argument that classical Aboriginal society was a hunter-gatherer society and as sophisticated as the traditional European farming methods.
Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? asks Australians to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal society and culture.
Australians' understanding of Aboriginal society prior to the British invasion from 1788 has been transformed since the publication of Bruce Pascoe's Dark Emu in 2014. It argued that classical Aboriginal society was more sophisticated than Australians had been led to believe because it resembled more closely the farming communities of Europe.
In Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe ask why Australians have been so receptive to the notion that farming represents an advance from hunting and gathering. Drawing on the knowledge of Aboriginal elders, previously not included within this discussion, and decades of anthropological scholarship, Sutton and Walshe provide extensive evidence to support their argument that classical Aboriginal society was a hunter-gatherer society and as sophisticated as the traditional European farming methods.
Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? asks Australians to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal society and culture.
Finding The Heart Of The Nation 2nd Edition, Thomas Mayo
In this updated edition of the bestselling book, Finding the Heart of the Nation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander author Thomas Mayo gets behind the politics and legal speak to explain why the Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to all Australians.
Australia is set to vote on a referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the constitution as a result of the 2022 federal election. In this book, Thomas focuses on the stories of First Nations People, including some new voices, looking at the truth of our past and present, and hopes for a better future. Importantly, he shares with you – the Australian public – how we all have the power to make change. The campaign for Voice Treaty Truth, starting with a referendum, is an opportunity to right some of the wrongs, give First Nations People a seat at the table, and to recognise that we are a nation with over 60,000 years of continuous culture.
Completing his writing just after the 2022 federal election, Thomas has included a new introduction and conclusion, as well as a call to action for all Australians. Now in a paperback format, this collection of stories offers hope and tells us how we, as Australians, may find our collective heart.
Australia is set to vote on a referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the constitution as a result of the 2022 federal election. In this book, Thomas focuses on the stories of First Nations People, including some new voices, looking at the truth of our past and present, and hopes for a better future. Importantly, he shares with you – the Australian public – how we all have the power to make change. The campaign for Voice Treaty Truth, starting with a referendum, is an opportunity to right some of the wrongs, give First Nations People a seat at the table, and to recognise that we are a nation with over 60,000 years of continuous culture.
Completing his writing just after the 2022 federal election, Thomas has included a new introduction and conclusion, as well as a call to action for all Australians. Now in a paperback format, this collection of stories offers hope and tells us how we, as Australians, may find our collective heart.
Fire Country, Victor Steffensen
Delving deep into the Australian landscape and the environmental challenges we face, Fire Country is a powerful account from Indigenous land management expert Victor Steffensen on how the revival of cultural burning practices, and improved 'reading' of country, could help to restore our land.
From a young age, Victor has had a passion for traditional cultural and ecological knowledge. This was further developed after meeting two Elders, who were to become his mentors and teach him the importance of cultural burning. Developed over many generations, this knowledge shows clearly that Australia actually needs fire. Moreover, fire is an important part of a holistic approach to the environment, and when burning is done in a carefully considered manner, this ensures proper land care and healing.
Victor's story is unassuming and honest, while demonstrating the incredibly sophisticated and complex cultural knowledge that has been passed down to him, which he wants to share with others. As global warming sees more parts of our planet burning, this book emphasises the value of Indigenous knowledge systems. There is much evidence that, if adopted, it could greatly benefit the land here in Australia and around the world.
From a young age, Victor has had a passion for traditional cultural and ecological knowledge. This was further developed after meeting two Elders, who were to become his mentors and teach him the importance of cultural burning. Developed over many generations, this knowledge shows clearly that Australia actually needs fire. Moreover, fire is an important part of a holistic approach to the environment, and when burning is done in a carefully considered manner, this ensures proper land care and healing.
Victor's story is unassuming and honest, while demonstrating the incredibly sophisticated and complex cultural knowledge that has been passed down to him, which he wants to share with others. As global warming sees more parts of our planet burning, this book emphasises the value of Indigenous knowledge systems. There is much evidence that, if adopted, it could greatly benefit the land here in Australia and around the world.
First Knowledges Astronomy, Krystal De Napoli, Karlie Noon, Margo Neale
What do you need to know to prosper for 65,000 years or more?
The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest scientists in human history. Many First Peoples regard the land as a reflection of the sky and the sky a reflection of the land. Sophisticated astronomical expertise embedded within the Dreamtime and Songlines is interwoven into a deep understanding of changes on the land, such as weather patterns and seasonal shifts, that are integral to knowledges of time, food availability, and ceremony.
In Astronomy: Sky Country, Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli explore the connections between Aboriginal environmental and cultural practices and the behaviour of the stars, and consider what must be done to sustain our dark skies, and the information they hold, into the future.
The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest scientists in human history. Many First Peoples regard the land as a reflection of the sky and the sky a reflection of the land. Sophisticated astronomical expertise embedded within the Dreamtime and Songlines is interwoven into a deep understanding of changes on the land, such as weather patterns and seasonal shifts, that are integral to knowledges of time, food availability, and ceremony.
In Astronomy: Sky Country, Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli explore the connections between Aboriginal environmental and cultural practices and the behaviour of the stars, and consider what must be done to sustain our dark skies, and the information they hold, into the future.
First Knowledges Country, Bruce Pascoe, Bill Gammage, Margo Neale
What do you need to know to prosper as a people for at least 65,000 years? The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians.
For millennia, Indigenous Australians harvested this continent in ways that can offer contemporary environmental and economic solutions.
Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe demonstrate how Aboriginal people cultivated the land through manipulation of water flows, vegetation and firestick practice. Not solely hunters and gatherers, the First Australians also farmed and stored food. They employed complex seasonal fire programs that protected Country and animals alike. In doing so, they avoided the killer fires that we fear today.
Country: Future Fire, Future Farming highlights the consequences of ignoring this deep history and living in unsustainable ways. It details the remarkable agricultural and land-care techniques of First Nations peoples and shows how such practices are needed now more than ever.
For millennia, Indigenous Australians harvested this continent in ways that can offer contemporary environmental and economic solutions.
Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe demonstrate how Aboriginal people cultivated the land through manipulation of water flows, vegetation and firestick practice. Not solely hunters and gatherers, the First Australians also farmed and stored food. They employed complex seasonal fire programs that protected Country and animals alike. In doing so, they avoided the killer fires that we fear today.
Country: Future Fire, Future Farming highlights the consequences of ignoring this deep history and living in unsustainable ways. It details the remarkable agricultural and land-care techniques of First Nations peoples and shows how such practices are needed now more than ever.
First Knowledges Design, Alison Page, Paul Memmott, Margo Neale
Aboriginal design is of a distinctly cultural nature, based in the Dreaming and in ancient practices grounded in Country. It is visible in the aerodynamic boomerang, the ingenious design of fish traps and the precise layouts of community settlements that strengthen social cohesion.
Alison Page and Paul Memmott show how these design principles of sophisticated function, sustainability and storytelling, refined over many millennia, are now being applied to contemporary practices. Design: Building on Country issues a challenge for a new Australian design ethos, one that truly responds to the essence of Country and its people.
About the series: Each book is a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers and editors; the series is edited by Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia.
Other titles in the series include: Songlines by Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly (2020); Country by Bill Gammage & Bruce Pascoe (2021); Plants by Zena Cumpston, Michael Fletcher & Lesley Head (2022); Astronomy (2022); Law (2023).
Alison Page and Paul Memmott show how these design principles of sophisticated function, sustainability and storytelling, refined over many millennia, are now being applied to contemporary practices. Design: Building on Country issues a challenge for a new Australian design ethos, one that truly responds to the essence of Country and its people.
About the series: Each book is a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers and editors; the series is edited by Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia.
Other titles in the series include: Songlines by Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly (2020); Country by Bill Gammage & Bruce Pascoe (2021); Plants by Zena Cumpston, Michael Fletcher & Lesley Head (2022); Astronomy (2022); Law (2023).
First Knowledges Plants, Zena Cumpston, Michael Fletcher, Lesley Head, Margo Neale
What do you need to know to prosper as a people for at least 65,000 years? The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians.
Plants are the foundation of life on Earth. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always known this to be true.
For millennia, reciprocal relationships with plants have provided both sustenance to Indigenous communities and many of the materials needed to produce a complex array of technologies. Managed through fire and selective harvesting and replanting, the longevity and intricacy of these partnerships are testament to the ingenuity and depth of Indigenous first knowledges. Plants: Past, Present and Future celebrates the deep cultural significance of plants and shows how engaging with this heritage could be the key to a healthier, more sustainable future.
'Plants: Past, Present and Future calls for new ways of understanding and engaging with Country, and reveals the power and possibility of Indigenous ecological expertise.'
- BILLY GRIFFITHS
'An enlightening read on the power of plants and the management practices of Indigenous people.'
- TERRI JANKE
Plants are the foundation of life on Earth. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always known this to be true.
For millennia, reciprocal relationships with plants have provided both sustenance to Indigenous communities and many of the materials needed to produce a complex array of technologies. Managed through fire and selective harvesting and replanting, the longevity and intricacy of these partnerships are testament to the ingenuity and depth of Indigenous first knowledges. Plants: Past, Present and Future celebrates the deep cultural significance of plants and shows how engaging with this heritage could be the key to a healthier, more sustainable future.
'Plants: Past, Present and Future calls for new ways of understanding and engaging with Country, and reveals the power and possibility of Indigenous ecological expertise.'
- BILLY GRIFFITHS
'An enlightening read on the power of plants and the management practices of Indigenous people.'
- TERRI JANKE
First Knowledges Songlines, Margo Neale, Lynne Kelly
'Let this series begin the discussion.' - Bruce Pascoe
'An act of intellectual reconciliation.' - Lynette Russell
Songlines are an archive for powerful knowledges that ensured Australia's many Indigenous cultures flourished for over 60,000 years. Much more than a navigational path in the cartographic sense, these vast and robust stores of information are encoded through song, story, dance, art and ceremony, rather than simply recorded in writing.
Weaving deeply personal storytelling with extensive research on mnemonics, Songlines: The Power and Promise offers unique insights into Indigenous traditional knowledges, how they apply today and how they could help all peoples thrive into the future. This book invites readers to understand a remarkable way for storing knowledge in memory by adapting song, art, and most importantly, Country, into their lives.
About the series: The First Knowledges books are co-authored by Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers; the series is edited by Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia.
Forthcoming titles include: Design by Alison Page & Paul Memmott (2021); Country by Bill Gammage & Bruce Pascoe (2021); Medicine & Plants (2022); Astronomy (2022); Innovation (2023).
'An act of intellectual reconciliation.' - Lynette Russell
Songlines are an archive for powerful knowledges that ensured Australia's many Indigenous cultures flourished for over 60,000 years. Much more than a navigational path in the cartographic sense, these vast and robust stores of information are encoded through song, story, dance, art and ceremony, rather than simply recorded in writing.
Weaving deeply personal storytelling with extensive research on mnemonics, Songlines: The Power and Promise offers unique insights into Indigenous traditional knowledges, how they apply today and how they could help all peoples thrive into the future. This book invites readers to understand a remarkable way for storing knowledge in memory by adapting song, art, and most importantly, Country, into their lives.
About the series: The First Knowledges books are co-authored by Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers; the series is edited by Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia.
Forthcoming titles include: Design by Alison Page & Paul Memmott (2021); Country by Bill Gammage & Bruce Pascoe (2021); Medicine & Plants (2022); Astronomy (2022); Innovation (2023).
Forgotten War, Henry Reynolds
‘We are at war with them,’ wrote a Tasmanian settler in 1831. ‘What we call their crime is what in a white man we should call patriotism.’
Australia is dotted with memorials to soldiers who fought in wars overseas. So why are there no official memorials or commemorations of the wars that were fought on Australian soil between Aborigines and white colonists? Why is it more controversial to talk about the frontier wars now than it was one hundred years ago?
In Forgotten War, winner of the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Award for non-fiction, influential historian Henry Reynolds makes it clear that there can be no reconciliation without acknowledging the wars fought on our own soil. Reynolds argues the resistance by First Nations warriors to the invasion of their homelands, lasting for more than a hundred years, can now be seen as a significant chapter in the global history of anti-colonial rebellion. To be appreciated and understood in a way that has scarcely begun to dawn on our national consciousness, and admired far more widely than our role as adjunct imperialists fighting with Britain and America.
‘A brilliant light shone into a dark forgetfulness: ground-breaking, authoritative, compelling.’ KATE GRENVILLE
‘Forgotten War is a work of passion by one of Australia’s greatest living historians, a scholar who has helped to redefine the relationships between white and black Australians … His measured prose and scholarly authority should be heeded.’ PETER STANLEY, Sydney Morning Herald
Australia is dotted with memorials to soldiers who fought in wars overseas. So why are there no official memorials or commemorations of the wars that were fought on Australian soil between Aborigines and white colonists? Why is it more controversial to talk about the frontier wars now than it was one hundred years ago?
In Forgotten War, winner of the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Award for non-fiction, influential historian Henry Reynolds makes it clear that there can be no reconciliation without acknowledging the wars fought on our own soil. Reynolds argues the resistance by First Nations warriors to the invasion of their homelands, lasting for more than a hundred years, can now be seen as a significant chapter in the global history of anti-colonial rebellion. To be appreciated and understood in a way that has scarcely begun to dawn on our national consciousness, and admired far more widely than our role as adjunct imperialists fighting with Britain and America.
‘A brilliant light shone into a dark forgetfulness: ground-breaking, authoritative, compelling.’ KATE GRENVILLE
‘Forgotten War is a work of passion by one of Australia’s greatest living historians, a scholar who has helped to redefine the relationships between white and black Australians … His measured prose and scholarly authority should be heeded.’ PETER STANLEY, Sydney Morning Herald
From The Edge, Mark McKenna
"March 1797. Ninety Mile Beach, Victoria. Five British sailors and twelve Bengali seamen swim ashore after their longboat is ripped apart in a storm. The British penal colony at Port Jackson is 700 kilometres to the north, their fellow-survivors from the wreck of the Sydney Cove stranded far to the south on a tiny island in Bass Strait. To rescue them and save their own lives, they have no alternative. They set out to walk to Sydney. What follows is one of Australia's greatest survival stories and cross-cultural encounters. In From the Edge, award-winning historian Mark McKenna uncovers the places and histories that Australians so often fail to see. Like the largely forgotten story of the sailors' walk in 1797, these remarkable histories-the founding of a 'new Singapore' in West Arnhem Land in the 1840s, the site of Australia's largest industrial development project in the Pilbara and its extraordinary Indigenous rock art, and James Cook's meeting with Aboriginal people at Cooktown in 1770-lie on the edge of the continent and the edge of national consciousness. Retracing their steps, McKenna explores the central drama of Australian history- the encounter between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians-each altered irrevocably by the other-and offers a new understanding of the country and its people."
Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, Anita Heiss
Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning coastal and desert regions, cities and remote communities. All of them speak to the heart - sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect.
This groundbreaking anthology aims to enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today.
This groundbreaking anthology aims to enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today.
Growing Up In Country Australia, Rick Morton
Black Inc.'s bestselling Growing Up series goes to the country
Growing Up in Country Australia is a fresh, modern look at country Australia. There are stories of joy, adventure, nostalgia, connection to nature and freedom, but also more grim tales - of drought, fires, mouse plagues and isolation. From the politics of the country school bus to the class divides between locals, from shooting foxes with Dad to giving up meat as an adult, from working on the family farm to selling up and moving to the city, the picture painted is diverse and unexpected. This is country Australia as you've never seen it before.
Including nearly forty stories by established and emerging authors from a wide range of backgrounds - including First Nations and new migrants - Growing Up in Country Australia is a unique and revealing snapshot of rural life.
Contributors include Holden Sheppard, Laura Jean McKay, Annabel Crabb, Sami Shah, Lech Blaine, Tony Armstrong, Bridie Jabour, Jes Layton, Lily Chan, Jay Carmichael and many others.
Growing Up in Country Australia is a fresh, modern look at country Australia. There are stories of joy, adventure, nostalgia, connection to nature and freedom, but also more grim tales - of drought, fires, mouse plagues and isolation. From the politics of the country school bus to the class divides between locals, from shooting foxes with Dad to giving up meat as an adult, from working on the family farm to selling up and moving to the city, the picture painted is diverse and unexpected. This is country Australia as you've never seen it before.
Including nearly forty stories by established and emerging authors from a wide range of backgrounds - including First Nations and new migrants - Growing Up in Country Australia is a unique and revealing snapshot of rural life.
Contributors include Holden Sheppard, Laura Jean McKay, Annabel Crabb, Sami Shah, Lech Blaine, Tony Armstrong, Bridie Jabour, Jes Layton, Lily Chan, Jay Carmichael and many others.
Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man, Frances Peters-Little
In this first biography of the man and his music, Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man tells the incredible story of one of Australia’s most acclaimed Aboriginal pop and country music legends and icons, Jimmy Little.
At just 16 years of age, Jimmy Little travelled to Sydney to make his radio debut on Australia’s Amateur Hour. The eldest of seven children and born on the Cummeragunja Reserve on the Murray River, Jimmy’s entry into the entertainment industry came at a time when First Nations people were not counted in the census.
In the face of indescribable barriers and discrimination, Jimmy would go on to woo the nation. His immense talent, charm and heart saw him become a household name and national treasure. Jimmy’s songs consistently topped the music charts of the 1960s, and he won several of Australia’s most prestigious lifetime achievement awards, including the ARIA Hall of Fame, NAIDOC Person of the Year, and Officer of the Order of Australia.
And now his daughter, Frances Peters-Little, tells the full story behind her father’s inspiring ascent to stardom. For though this is a story about a pop star and national celebrity, it is also the story of a gentle man who always stayed true to himself and his cultural identity – a man who believed in the power of living your dreams.
Weaving together stories both known and unknown to the public, Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man will take you on a remarkable journey through a life of music, love and advocacy.
At just 16 years of age, Jimmy Little travelled to Sydney to make his radio debut on Australia’s Amateur Hour. The eldest of seven children and born on the Cummeragunja Reserve on the Murray River, Jimmy’s entry into the entertainment industry came at a time when First Nations people were not counted in the census.
In the face of indescribable barriers and discrimination, Jimmy would go on to woo the nation. His immense talent, charm and heart saw him become a household name and national treasure. Jimmy’s songs consistently topped the music charts of the 1960s, and he won several of Australia’s most prestigious lifetime achievement awards, including the ARIA Hall of Fame, NAIDOC Person of the Year, and Officer of the Order of Australia.
And now his daughter, Frances Peters-Little, tells the full story behind her father’s inspiring ascent to stardom. For though this is a story about a pop star and national celebrity, it is also the story of a gentle man who always stayed true to himself and his cultural identity – a man who believed in the power of living your dreams.
Weaving together stories both known and unknown to the public, Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man will take you on a remarkable journey through a life of music, love and advocacy.
Keeping Them Honest, Stephen Charles AO QC
A revealing and compelling case by Australia's foremost integrity advocate for a strong national body to expose political corruption, uphold accountability, and restore trust - and why the country needs it now.
Over the last few years, instances of the federal government spending taxpayers' money to gain improper political advantage in elections have continued, with many hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in the Community Sport Infrastructure Program ('sports rorts') and the Urban Congestion Fund ('car parks rorts'). As Stephen Charles writes, these electorally targeted pork-barrelling exercises are better understood as political corruption, which can take many forms but essentially involve dishonest conduct that undermines trust in our democratic political system.
Keeping Them Honest points to the crucial absence of a federal integrity commission. Victoria has its own Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), and NSW has its Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), but there is no comparable body at the national level that exposes corruption in government and public administration, and that holds wrongdoers to account. While in 2020 the federal government announced legislation for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, Stephen Charles argues that its insipid terms would protect - rather than expose - ethical breaches by federal politicians.
Over the last few years, instances of the federal government spending taxpayers' money to gain improper political advantage in elections have continued, with many hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in the Community Sport Infrastructure Program ('sports rorts') and the Urban Congestion Fund ('car parks rorts'). As Stephen Charles writes, these electorally targeted pork-barrelling exercises are better understood as political corruption, which can take many forms but essentially involve dishonest conduct that undermines trust in our democratic political system.
Keeping Them Honest points to the crucial absence of a federal integrity commission. Victoria has its own Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), and NSW has its Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), but there is no comparable body at the national level that exposes corruption in government and public administration, and that holds wrongdoers to account. While in 2020 the federal government announced legislation for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, Stephen Charles argues that its insipid terms would protect - rather than expose - ethical breaches by federal politicians.
Looking For Blackfellas' Point, Mark McKenna
A history for every Australian who is interested in the story of settler-Australia's relations with Indigenous people - what happened between us, how we learnt to forget and, finally, how we came to confront the truth about our past and build a movement for reconciliation.
Loving Country, Bruce Pascoe, Vicky Shukuroglou
Loving Country is a powerful and essential guidebook that offers a new way to travel and discover Australia through an Indigenous narrative. In this beautifully designed and photographed edition, co-authors Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou, in consultation with communities and Elders across Australia, show travellers how to see the country as herself, to know her whole and old story, and to find the way to fall in love with her, our home.
Featuring 18 places in detail, from the ingenious fish traps at Brewarrina and the rivers that feed the Great Barrier Reef, to the love stories of Wiluna and the whale story of Margaret River, there is so much to celebrate. This immersive book covers history, Dreaming stories, traditional cultural practices, Indigenous tours and the importance of recognition and protection of place. It offers keys to unlock the heart of this loving country for those who want to enrich their understanding of our continent, and for travellers looking for more than a whistle-stop tour of Australia.
In Loving Country, Bruce and Vicky hope that all communities will be heard when they tell their stories, and that these stories and the country from which they have grown will be honoured. Readers are encouraged to discover sacred Australia by reconsidering the accepted history, and hearing diverse stories of her Indigenous peoples. It is a roadmap to communication and understanding, between all peoples and country, to encourage environmental and social change.
Featuring 18 places in detail, from the ingenious fish traps at Brewarrina and the rivers that feed the Great Barrier Reef, to the love stories of Wiluna and the whale story of Margaret River, there is so much to celebrate. This immersive book covers history, Dreaming stories, traditional cultural practices, Indigenous tours and the importance of recognition and protection of place. It offers keys to unlock the heart of this loving country for those who want to enrich their understanding of our continent, and for travellers looking for more than a whistle-stop tour of Australia.
In Loving Country, Bruce and Vicky hope that all communities will be heard when they tell their stories, and that these stories and the country from which they have grown will be honoured. Readers are encouraged to discover sacred Australia by reconsidering the accepted history, and hearing diverse stories of her Indigenous peoples. It is a roadmap to communication and understanding, between all peoples and country, to encourage environmental and social change.
Making Australian History, Anna Clark
A bold and expansive history that traces the changing and contested project of Australia's national story. You will think about this country differently after reading this book.
Australian history has been revised and reinterpreted by successive generations of historians, writers, governments and public commentators, yet there has been no account of the ways it has changed, who makes history, and how. Making Australian History responds to this critical gap in Australian historical research.
A few years ago Anna Clark saw a series of paintings on a sandstone cliff face in the Northern Territory. There were characteristic crosshatched images of fat barramundi and turtles, as well as sprayed handprints and several human figures with spears. Next to them was a long gun, painted with white ochre, an unmistakable image of the colonisers. Was this an Indigenous rendering of contact? A work of history?
Each piece of history has a message and context that depends on who wrote it and when. Australian history has swirled and contorted over the years- the history wars have embroiled historians, politicians and public commentators alike, while debates over historical fiction have been as divisive. History isn't just about understanding what happened and why. It also reflects the persuasions, politics and prejudices of its authors. Each iteration of Australia's national story reveals not only the past in question, but also the guiding concerns and perceptions of each generation of history makers.
Making Australian History is bold and inclusive- it catalogues and contextualises changing readings of the past, it examines the increasingly problematic role of historians as national storytellers, and it incorporates the stories of people.
Australian history has been revised and reinterpreted by successive generations of historians, writers, governments and public commentators, yet there has been no account of the ways it has changed, who makes history, and how. Making Australian History responds to this critical gap in Australian historical research.
A few years ago Anna Clark saw a series of paintings on a sandstone cliff face in the Northern Territory. There were characteristic crosshatched images of fat barramundi and turtles, as well as sprayed handprints and several human figures with spears. Next to them was a long gun, painted with white ochre, an unmistakable image of the colonisers. Was this an Indigenous rendering of contact? A work of history?
Each piece of history has a message and context that depends on who wrote it and when. Australian history has swirled and contorted over the years- the history wars have embroiled historians, politicians and public commentators alike, while debates over historical fiction have been as divisive. History isn't just about understanding what happened and why. It also reflects the persuasions, politics and prejudices of its authors. Each iteration of Australia's national story reveals not only the past in question, but also the guiding concerns and perceptions of each generation of history makers.
Making Australian History is bold and inclusive- it catalogues and contextualises changing readings of the past, it examines the increasingly problematic role of historians as national storytellers, and it incorporates the stories of people.
Migrations, A History of Where We All Come From, DK
A visual exploration of the movements of peoples, cultures, and ideas that brings a human perspective to a global phenomenon
Discover how the migration of peoples has shaped the modern world.
This beautifully-illustrated book details the movement of people and cultures around the world - from the early migrations of Homo erectus out of Africa 50,000 years ago to modern refugee movements and migrations.
Through striking photographs, evocative illustrations, and intimate first hand accounts, Migrations explores famous (and infamous) movements in history, from the Middle Passage and Trail of Tears to the California Gold Rush and the Windrush generation.
While many traditional world histories focus on (mainly European) "exploration" and "discovery", Migrations explores the story of each continent and focuses on cultures rather than conquest. Migrations highlights the human story and the positives- what has survived, not just what was destroyed.
With a foreword by award-winning historian, broadcaster, and filmmaker, David Olusoga OBE, Migrations is a history book with a fresh perspective, focusing on a topic ever more relevant in the modern world- Where did we come from? Why do people leave their homes? What brought us all together?
Discover how the migration of peoples has shaped the modern world.
This beautifully-illustrated book details the movement of people and cultures around the world - from the early migrations of Homo erectus out of Africa 50,000 years ago to modern refugee movements and migrations.
Through striking photographs, evocative illustrations, and intimate first hand accounts, Migrations explores famous (and infamous) movements in history, from the Middle Passage and Trail of Tears to the California Gold Rush and the Windrush generation.
While many traditional world histories focus on (mainly European) "exploration" and "discovery", Migrations explores the story of each continent and focuses on cultures rather than conquest. Migrations highlights the human story and the positives- what has survived, not just what was destroyed.
With a foreword by award-winning historian, broadcaster, and filmmaker, David Olusoga OBE, Migrations is a history book with a fresh perspective, focusing on a topic ever more relevant in the modern world- Where did we come from? Why do people leave their homes? What brought us all together?
My Dream Time: A Memoir Of Tennis & Teamwork, Ash Barty
It's a tennis story. It's a family story. It's a teamwork story. It's the story of how I got to where and who I am today.
I'm only in my mid-twenties, and some might think that's young to write a memoir. Who does that, right? But for me and my team, it's always been important to reflect on every part of the journey, especially the end. In that context, the timing is perfect to share my story, from the first time I picked up a racquet as a 5-year-old girl in Ipswich to the night I packed up my tennis bag at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open. This book gives me a chance to look back at every moment of the 20 years in between, and to think carefully through the highs and lows, the work and the play, the smiles and the tears.
Telling my story also gives me an opportunity to do more than simply thank those who mean the most to me – it provides a way to honour them as an integral part of that tale, as the very secret behind my success. Some of them you might know – such as my long-time coach, Craig Tyzzer – and some of them you might not – like my first childhood coach, Jim Joyce. There are mates like Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik. Mentors such as tennis icon Evonne Goolagong Cawley and mindset coach Ben Crowe. My parents and sisters and my husband have sacrificed as much as I have over the years – this book is also for them.
My Dream Time is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete. We all have a professional and a personal self. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat or pain? What drives you to succeed – and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised – from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world.
My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives.
I'm only in my mid-twenties, and some might think that's young to write a memoir. Who does that, right? But for me and my team, it's always been important to reflect on every part of the journey, especially the end. In that context, the timing is perfect to share my story, from the first time I picked up a racquet as a 5-year-old girl in Ipswich to the night I packed up my tennis bag at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open. This book gives me a chance to look back at every moment of the 20 years in between, and to think carefully through the highs and lows, the work and the play, the smiles and the tears.
Telling my story also gives me an opportunity to do more than simply thank those who mean the most to me – it provides a way to honour them as an integral part of that tale, as the very secret behind my success. Some of them you might know – such as my long-time coach, Craig Tyzzer – and some of them you might not – like my first childhood coach, Jim Joyce. There are mates like Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik. Mentors such as tennis icon Evonne Goolagong Cawley and mindset coach Ben Crowe. My parents and sisters and my husband have sacrificed as much as I have over the years – this book is also for them.
My Dream Time is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete. We all have a professional and a personal self. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat or pain? What drives you to succeed – and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised – from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world.
My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives.
Pathfinders, Michael Bennett
There are few Aboriginal icons in White Australia history.
From the explorer to the pioneer, the swagman to the drover's wife, with a few bushrangers for good measure, Europeans play all the leading roles. A rare exception is the redoubtable tracker. With skills passed down over millennia, trackers could trace the movements of people across vast swathes of country. Celebrated as saviours of lost children and disoriented adults, and finders of missing livestock, they were also cursed by robbers on the run.
Trackers live in the collective memory as one of the few examples of Aboriginal people's skills being sought after in colonial society. In New South Wales alone, more than a thousand Aboriginal men and a smaller number of women toiled for authorities across the state after 1862. This book tells the often unlikely stories of trackers including Billy Bogan, Jimmy Governor, Tommy Gordon, Frank Williams and Alec Riley.
Through his work on native title claims, historian Michael Bennett realised that the role of trackers – and how they moved between two worlds – has been largely unacknowledged. His important book reveals that their work grew out of traditional society and was sustained by the vast family networks that endure to this day. Pathfinders brings the skilled and diverse work of trackers not only to the forefront of law enforcement history but to the general shared histories of black and white Australia.
'The word tracker conjures images of
the legendary Aboriginal bush experts responsible for bringing criminals to
justice and finding people lost in the wild. Michael Bennett's new book is a
very welcome addition. The book charts an important though largely overlooked
area of the country's history. Aboriginal trackers hold a mythical yet obscure
presence in the history of the continent. Bennett weaves back into the nation's
historical narrative these Aboriginal heroes and heroines.' — Professor John
Maynard
From the explorer to the pioneer, the swagman to the drover's wife, with a few bushrangers for good measure, Europeans play all the leading roles. A rare exception is the redoubtable tracker. With skills passed down over millennia, trackers could trace the movements of people across vast swathes of country. Celebrated as saviours of lost children and disoriented adults, and finders of missing livestock, they were also cursed by robbers on the run.
Trackers live in the collective memory as one of the few examples of Aboriginal people's skills being sought after in colonial society. In New South Wales alone, more than a thousand Aboriginal men and a smaller number of women toiled for authorities across the state after 1862. This book tells the often unlikely stories of trackers including Billy Bogan, Jimmy Governor, Tommy Gordon, Frank Williams and Alec Riley.
Through his work on native title claims, historian Michael Bennett realised that the role of trackers – and how they moved between two worlds – has been largely unacknowledged. His important book reveals that their work grew out of traditional society and was sustained by the vast family networks that endure to this day. Pathfinders brings the skilled and diverse work of trackers not only to the forefront of law enforcement history but to the general shared histories of black and white Australia.
'The word tracker conjures images of
the legendary Aboriginal bush experts responsible for bringing criminals to
justice and finding people lost in the wild. Michael Bennett's new book is a
very welcome addition. The book charts an important though largely overlooked
area of the country's history. Aboriginal trackers hold a mythical yet obscure
presence in the history of the continent. Bennett weaves back into the nation's
historical narrative these Aboriginal heroes and heroines.' — Professor John
Maynard