AustLit

'Mention Palm Island to many Australians and they will conjure images of tropical resorts in the Caribbean, the Grenadines or Dubai. Most non-Indigenous Australians know little of Palm’s history as a penal settlement for Aboriginal people, established by the Queensland Government a century ago. Some may vaguely recall television images from 2004 of smoke billowing from the roof of the police station on an island in North Queensland; others the shock headlines ‘Tropic of Despair’, ‘Paradise Lost’ or ‘Queensland hell hole’ that thrust Australia’s... ' (Introduction)

'It is a common vanity among humans that our ascent is an exponential trajectory applauded by gods.

'Our religions encourage us to believe God has never seen anything as beautiful, dutiful and intelligent as we. Those religions also insist that as we are superb and closest to God’s hem, all others are not and need our assistance to reach a developmental level that the imperialist calculates as being the true destiny of humans.' (Introduction)

'Science and research has an important role to play in the fundamental debate Australians are now having about the rights of this country’s First Peoples and their recognition. This manifests in many ways, but one example powerfully illustrates it. A widespread concern for many Indigenous communities centres on difficulties regarding the repatriation of ancient remains and the connections with kin for members of the stolen generations. Genomic science can bring knowledge and know-how to help address these complex issues, by developing new methods and working in partnership with Indigenous communities and individuals. This research has resulted in new methods to improve recovery of DNA from ancient remains and improved sequencing of complete genomes of living people. This produces new knowledge and, when done collaboratively, results in ownership of the research and its findings by Indigenous people. Ten years after Kevin Rudd’s Apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, this research is timely... ' (Introduction)

'The Uluru Statement from the Heart is essentially the same missive as sent by Tasmanians Walter and Mary Anne Arthur to Queen Victoria in 1846 – which eventually resulted in the removal of Henry Jeanneret as Commandant of Flinders Island – and every heartfelt petition since, most of which have not been so successful, at least in the short-term.' (Introduction)

'Prisons have ravaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities. In the last two decades, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls have been imprisoned at alarming rates across Australia. Pipelined from out-of-home ‘care’ to youth prisons to homelessness, poverty and adult prisons, women and girls are trapped in a cycle of government failure.' (Introduction)

'I've experienced the transcendental power of switching from a toxic narrative of low expectations and negative stereotypes to a new one in which we are all strong and smart: young, black and deadly. And I survived the gruelling dynamics that have undermined the truth about who we are as Aboriginal people, solidly anchored by ancient connections to the land we now share; traversed far beyond the shadows of Plato’s cave, embracing instead a world more vibrant and full of potential than anyone thought possible in this lifetime.' (Introduction)

'Doctor Junk stops his car facing the heavy white gate, from where he can see a few outlying buildings of the Barambah Aboriginal Settlement. He gives a double-blast from his car horn, leaving the engine idling while filling his pipe. After a few puffs he sees a man riding down the hill towards him. The rider has a felt hat, but no shoes, and his horse has a bridle, but no saddle. The man’s buttonless shirt, tucked into his trousers, is open wide enough to see the patterned scars across his chest. The doctor taps out his pipe and pulls a white cloth from his coat pocket.' (Introduction)

'In August 2016,  I stood on the sacred ceremonial grounds of the Yolngu, the people of north-east Arnhem Land, for the annual Garma Festival. I have been to the festival a number of times, but more than any other, this time held a great deal of poignancy for me.'  (Introduction)

'On 25 July 2016 I was in a paediatric roundtable at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, where we discussed early interventions in Koori children’s lives to help give them the best start possible. Later that evening I found myself horrified by images of teenage Dylan Voller being stripped naked, hooded and strapped in a chair by adult men in the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. Like many others I will never forget those images. I grew so distressed during the airing of that show that my husband wanted to change the channel. I said, ‘No. I am a witness, I am witnessing something here.’'  (Introduction)

'In April 2017, I became the first woman to be appointed to the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). I have made the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls a priority of... ' (Introduction)

'I listened to the radio broadcast of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Closing the Gap address in parliament on 12 February 2018 and, gritting my teeth, expected the worst. I was surprised to hear him mention, if only briefly, violence against Indigenous women as one of the challenges facing the strategy. I expected this matter of high priority to be ignored yet again. But times are changing.' (Introduction)

'A stranger rode into town only it wasn’t a stranger, it was Kerry, come to say goodbye to Pop before he fell off that perch he’d been clinging to real stubborn for so long. Cancer, Ken reckoned, never mind cancer, ya couldn’t kill the old bastard with an axe. But ah, no good. The call come last night. Get yerself home, chop chop.' (Introduction)