“We want hope, not racialism, Brotherhood, not ostracism, Black advance, not white ascendance: Make us equals, not dependants. […]” – Oodgerou Noonuccal, “Aboriginal Carter of Rights” (1962)

In 1931 Doris Pilkington’s mother Molly Craig escaped with two other Aboriginal girls from the Moore River Native Settlement, an internment camp for Aboriginal children in Western Australia. Walking more than 2.400 km along the rabbit-proof fence, they finally returned to their families in Jigalong after nine weeks. Molly Craig told the story later to her child Doris, who wrote the biographical novel Follow The Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) in reflection of the victims of Australia’s racist child removal policy. Her novel became a great success, was adapted by Phillip Noyce as a movie (2002) and is read in EFL classrooms all around the world. Stolen Generations describes the brutal act of removing mixed-descent children (e.g. with an Aboriginal mother and a European Australian father) from their communities. Under the guise of education, the children were taken to Christian missions and state agencies that believed in ‘converting half-casts’ disconnecting them from their cultural heritage. The report “Bringing Them Home” (1997) concluded that approximately 250,000 children were forcefully removed and separated from their families. On 13. February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal apology to the native people of Australia, known as the “Apology to Australia’s IndiIndigenousples” Doris Pilkington, like her mother, was one of these children. She was taken from her family by Australia’s Department of Native Affairs against her will to Moor River and later Roelands Native Mission. Aged 18, Doris was able to leave the camp, received training at a nursing school, later studied journalism at Curtin University and became an award-winning author.

Apart from Doris Pilkington’s novel, Lit4School offers the play Stolen by Jane Harrison and a collection of poetry by Oodgerou Noonuccal on similar topics. Also, these myths, legends and stories by James Vance Marshall provide an authentic insight into the Aboriginal storytelling culture.

Kind regards and stay safe,

Simon