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''These two children have been in our Home in Townsville for more than two years, and in view of their very dark colouring, have not been assimilated into the white race. Every effort has been made to place them in a foster home without success because of their colour.' Queensland State Children's Department correspondence, 21 June 1960.
'The removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families remains a dark chapter in Australia's history. Pattie Lees was just ten-years-old when she and her four siblings were separated from their mother on the grounds of neglect and placed into State care. Believing she was being shipped and exiled to Africa, Pattie was ultimately fated to spend the rest of her childhood on the island once dubbed 'Australia's Alcatraz' -Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement, off the coast of Queensland.
'A Question of Colour: My Journey to Belonging provides a first-hand account of Pattie's experiences as a 'fair-skinned Aboriginal' during Australia's assimilationist policy era and recounts her survival following a decade of sexual, physical and emotional abuse as a Ward of the State. A Question of Colour is a deeply moving and powerful testimony to the resilience of a young girl, her identity and her journey to belong.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication : 'In loving memory of my brother Michael (Jumbo)
'For Mum and my siblings John, Terry, Johanne and Elin
'For my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and future generations
'For Anna Shnukal; thank you for sharing your time and knowledge.'
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
The Ties That Bind
2024
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia 2024; (p. 201-214) Adam C. Lees describes childhood as a Torres Strait Islander without access to cultural knowledge, and the gaining of knowledge and connections through visiting Thursday Island and developing A Question of Colour : My Journey to Belonging with his mother. -
[Review] A Question of Colour: My Journey to Belonging
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 54 no. 1 2023; (p. 176-178)
— Review of A Question of Colour : My Journey to Belonging 2020 single work autobiography'A Question of Colour and Debesa are both intimate and personal accounts of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families and their resilience and survival in the face of this removal. A Question of Colour is the story of a family in north Queensland – especially Cairns, Townsville and Palm Island – and the family story told in Debesa is set in the Kimberley in the northwest of Western Australia. The two books document different aspects of intergenerational impacts of removal under the harsh ‘assimilationist’ policies in the respective states.' (Introduction)
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Testimony to the Strength of Love
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 7 October no. 736 2020; (p. 23-24) 'Pattie Lees' story began with wanting to honour her mother and the love they shared.
-
[Review] A Question of Colour: My Journey to Belonging
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 54 no. 1 2023; (p. 176-178)
— Review of A Question of Colour : My Journey to Belonging 2020 single work autobiography'A Question of Colour and Debesa are both intimate and personal accounts of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families and their resilience and survival in the face of this removal. A Question of Colour is the story of a family in north Queensland – especially Cairns, Townsville and Palm Island – and the family story told in Debesa is set in the Kimberley in the northwest of Western Australia. The two books document different aspects of intergenerational impacts of removal under the harsh ‘assimilationist’ policies in the respective states.' (Introduction)
-
Testimony to the Strength of Love
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 7 October no. 736 2020; (p. 23-24) 'Pattie Lees' story began with wanting to honour her mother and the love they shared. -
The Ties That Bind
2024
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia 2024; (p. 201-214) Adam C. Lees describes childhood as a Torres Strait Islander without access to cultural knowledge, and the gaining of knowledge and connections through visiting Thursday Island and developing A Question of Colour : My Journey to Belonging with his mother.
Awards
- 2021 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year
- 2021 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
- 2021 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
- 2020 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer
- Palm Island, Ingham area, Ingham - Cairns area, Queensland,