Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life
Crows Nest
:
Allen and Unwin
,
2011
Z1787918
2011
single work
autobiography
'"It's bad luck to catch a black swan."
'Eileen Harrison grew up at the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Mission Station in the 1950s as one of eleven children in a tight-knit and loving family. When the new assimilation policy comes in, they are wrenched from the Mission and sent off to Ararat in the hope that they will become part of that community. Unable to build a stable life in the face of isolation and discrimination, the family is torn apart. Eileen must become the protector and the peacemaker.
'As a child, Eileen set free a black swan caught in a hessian bag. Now the story of the magical black swan from her childhood provides an uncanny map for her life as she struggles to find her path. After many years she discovers her talent as a painter and builds a new life for herself.
'Powerfully told in Eileen's words, her experiences speak eloquently of what has happened to Aboriginal people over the last half-century.
'"Both heart-wrenching and hopeful, Eileen Harrison's story demonstrates that while policies of assimilation may have taken families from country and community, they could never take the memories that kept them connected." (Dr Anita Heiss, award-winning author and activist).' (From the publisher's website.)
Jackson's Track : Memoir of a Dreamtime Place
Ringwood
:
Viking
,
1999
Z1379824
1999
single work
autobiography
In 1936, Daryl Tonkin and his brother, Harry, leave home in search of adventure. They find themselves in West Gippsland, Victoria, and set up a timber mill at Jackson's Track - a dreamtime place, a place that was paradise. A bushman dedicated to his work, Daryl discovers happiness there, and unexpectedly falls in love. But Daryl is white and Euphie is black, and neither of them is prepared for the conflict their forbidden love ignites. Set in the heart of the Australian bush, this spellbinding memoir recaptures a community and a way of life now vanished from sight. It tells of one man's courage and determination to pursue what he knows is right. An unforgettable true story of joy, of tragedy, and of hope, which has won the hearts of Australians.
(From Libraries Australia record.)
