What the Colonists Never Knew
What the Colonists Never Knew
A History of Aboriginal Sydney
By Dennis Foley
Unit price / per
What the Colonists Never Knew paints a vivid picture of what it was like to grow up Aboriginal in Sydney, alongside the colonists, from 1788 to the present.
Dennis, the grandson ofClarice Malinda Lougher, the last practising matriarch of the Gai-mariagal clan, was immersed in cultural knowledge and lore from an early age.Through his eyes we see a Sydney of totemic landscapes resonating with ceremonial sites and ancestral activity, song-lines and walking tracks, habitat caves and middens, and share memories of what has been lost.
At Narrabeen camp in the 1950s we meet Uncle Willie de Serve, a man who wore the scarifications of his ritual life and mentored the young Dennis. 'His face was alive with a thousand stories.'
Dennis also introduces us to Nanna Watson, who lived in a little humpy at Car-rang gel (North Head). 'On a hot summer's afternoon, she would hitch her dress up round her knees and wriggle around in the sand to get a couple of ugaries (pipis), chew one up and spit it into the water and put the other one on the line, and before you knew it she'd have a big whiting or a bream.'
Through the stories so generously told we may reflect on what it means to be a stolen child and one of the 'silent generations', and to fight to safeguard culture and identity. We can sense the responsibility of being the senior Gai-mariagal and the last of the storytellers, and the urgency to document and share the knowledge bestowed on him by generations of his family.
'This is a mesmerising read. It flows from rich anecdotal remembrance loaded with song and lore to incisive commentary about legislation and then slips seamlessly into detailed evocation of pre-colonial life. I have always loved Foley's ability to bring a story to life and Read's measured but uncompromising analysis ... I love this bloody book.' - Bruce Pascoe, author of Dark Emu
'There has never been a book like this before. Dazzling, revelatory, unheralded.' - Melissa Lucashenko, author of Mullumbimby and Too Much Lip
'Come into this book to find a Sydney that many of us have never seen. This is a Sydney which to this day belongs to a network of vivid, tenacious, funny and courageous Aboriginal people. Dennis and Peter are both master storytellers and they bring to us the rich and moving stories of people who lived on and travelled around the paths and waterways of the city, to keep close to the people and country they cared about.' - Heather Goodall, author of Invasion to Embassy and Rivers and Resilience
GIFT WRAPPING
GIFT WRAPPING
Gift Wrapping available. Select the Gift Wrap option in your cart prior to checkout.
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK DETAILS
Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN: 9781921953392
Publish/Release date:
Publisher: National Museum of Australia
Number of pages: 240
Width (mm): 170
Height (mm): 240
Depth (mm):
Share this product
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Australian National University. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Bondi Junction. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Burnside Village. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Carindale. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Green Hills. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Kotara. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Macquarie. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Maroochydore. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Marrickville. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Miranda. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Narellan. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Penrith. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Tuggeranong. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Warringah. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Reserve and collect
You are reserving this item at Harry Hartog Woden. Reservations are held for 24 hours.
Gift Vouchers and Curated Book Recommendations
-
Harry Hartog Gift Voucher
Regular price From $30.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per -
Bibliotonic For Youths
Regular price $75.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per -
Children's Book Subscription
Regular price From $110.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per -
Harry Hartog Book Subscription
Regular price From $138.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per -
Harry Hartog Cookbook Subscription
Regular price From $200.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per -
Bibliotonic For Adults
Regular price $150.00 AUDRegular priceUnit price / per
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.