Doris Pilkington (1937–2014)

This is one of a series of books republished under the University of Queensland Press First Nations Classics series, which seeks to bring back to the attention of the public earlier books (novels, poetry, memoirs, other) written by First nations peoples.

The physical appearance is wonderful...seeing all 10 of the first issues (of which this is one) is mesmerising.

Rabbit Proof Fence is a story (though factual, not a novel) that is relatively well known, in my opinion, even if the detail is not. It gained a little more prominence following the publication of Sally Morgan's "My Place" and yet again after the release of the movie in 2002 of "Rabbit Proof Fence" (which I have not seen yet, though I have listened and love the soundtrack by Peter Gabriel). I am sure there are other works which have brought the story to the forefront, both before and after these mentioned.

It is said to be one of (if not the) first articulation (in the form of a book or extended portrayal) of the impact of the then policy of the WA Govt (we are talking of the 1930s) of (without consent, either of the children or their parents, nor of any actual evidence as to the children in question of them being in any actual or threatened harm or disadvantage) removing children from mixed (First Nations Peoples and others) from their families and sending them to facilities, where they are trained to be servants (of various descriptions) in a (my words) more Western society.

The book follows the tribulations of three girls, including the author, as they grow up in their community, before being removed from there and transported far away to such an institution, only to leave there to walk back home.

They do this notwithstanding they have no food or other supplies, the vast distance involved (said to be in the vicinity of 2400km), they being tracked by First Nations' trackers, that they were travelling across desert for much of the time and that when they came across remote farming/stock stations (where they asked for food/water) they were often thereafter reported by the station owners to those searching for the girls (aged 8-14).

They were successful in returning to their homes.

It is an extraordinary tale. And I have read some reviewers criticising the literary merit of the book. But I disagree, not because I think it is of high literary merit (and I mean no disrespect in saying so), but because it conveys an important part of our history. If one reds the journals of our European explorers, they often (if not always) read particularly well, even if they nevertheless convey relevant, if not important information, or at least context.

I would encourage those even mildly interested to give this a go, as I will with other issues in this series.

Big Ship

1 August 2023… (plus d'informations)

Based on a true event, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is story of three young Aboriginal girls who, in the 1930s, cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home after being gathered up and being placed in a settlement school to be assimilated. The term “school” is used loosely here, these girls were basically being removed from their families and being trained to be servants to the whites. The Rabbit-Proof Fence is in actuality the State Barrier Fence of Western Australia built between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits and other agricultural pests out of Western Australian pastoral areas it is 3,256 km in length. As there were no major roads for the girls to follow, the fence became their guideline. The fact that these young girls, aged 14, 11 and 8 made it back to their families is astounding.

Unfortunately I found the book suffered from less than stellar writing. The author is actually the daughter of one of these young girls and it becomes very obvious that she isn’t a word-smith. The story is told in easy, step by step stages but there is no spark that allows the reader to feel part of the adventure. This was a jaw-dropping achievement and an amazing survival story and I would have loved to see it expressed in a more creative way.… (plus d'informations)