AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 5283976368897618305.jpg
Image courtesy Salon du Livre Océanien de Rochefort, 2014
Philip McLaren Philip McLaren i(A21527 works by)
Born: Established: 1943 Redfern, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Kamilaroi
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 y separately published work icon Innocent Abroad Philip McLaren , Federal : Cockatoo Books , 2018 20544844 2018 single work novel crime

'Emerging Aboriginal artist Tommy Mullabah from a small desert community in Australia is encouraged to go to Paris to step onto the world stage. He doesn’t speak French and has never been to a big city. He has a lustfilled liaison with Martine, a wealthy art patron who introduces him to the Paris art world. Then he meets Erica, a TIME magazine art critic who comes to Paris to interview him. He falls in love with Erica and we have a classic triangle amoureux. Forgeries of Tommy’s paintings begin to flood the auction houses at the same time as his patron, Martine, is brutally murdered. Tommy learns that he is the prime suspect and he runs.'

Source : publisher's blurb

1 1 y separately published work icon West of Eden : The Real Man from Snowy River Philip McLaren , New South Wales : Cockatoo Books , 2013 10227739 2013 single work novel

'Young aboriginal Australian, Toby rode the high plateaus and steep-mountain gorges chasing brumbies, his feats documented and dated about two years before Paterson began writing his iconic poem after visiting the region. Paterson’s only description of ‘the man’ is that he is a ‘stripling’. This story also features Kurnai leader, Bunjileenee; Lauren Tucker, his white consort, who in real life he rescued from a shipwreck; and Angus McMillan who, with his gang of vigilantes, slaughtered hundreds of Snowy River families. It’s a love story; Aboriginals Toby and Louise wrestle with how they might fit into the new Australia of British imperialism. Most of all, it is the story of one young man’s feat of such outstanding horsemanship that, masked, he entered Australian history, literature and legend.' (Source: Proof-it website)

1 Black Silk Philip McLaren , 2011 single work short story
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 71 no. 2 2011; (p. 31-44)
1 Writing Black in Australia Philip McLaren , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , August/September no. 180 2008; (p. 4-5)
1 1 From Sweet Water...Stolen Land (Chapter 1) Philip McLaren , 2008 extract novel (Sweet Water : Stolen Land)
— Appears in: Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature 2008; (p. 140-144) Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature 2009; (p. 1074-1077)
2 3 y separately published work icon Murder in Utopia Utopia Philip McLaren , ( trans. Phillippe Boisserand with title Utopia ) France : Traversees Noumea , 2007 Z1702843 2007 single work novel crime (taught in 1 units) 'A reformed alcoholic, New York doctor Jack Nugent, takes on the challenge of running the medical centre at utopia in remote Central Australia. After two and a half years of advertising the position, there were no other applicants for the job. Nugent becomes engrossed in the exotic Aboriginal people and culture and is outraged by the government neglect he sees everywhere. Unexpectedly, he is swept up in a bizarre ritual murder investigation, in such a remote place he must assist the state coroner by gathering evidence and provide police with his forensic findings. Vital evidence goes missing and every avenue Nugent takes is blocked. He falls in love with Carla, a black lawyer, who helps him overcome the obstacles police and the Aboriginal community place in his path, a better social outcome for this ancient desert community depends largely on them.' (From the publisher's website.)
1 5 form y separately published work icon Mabo Philip McLaren , ( dir. Philip McLaren ) Metro Screen , 2005 Z1525906 2005 single work film/TV Violent electircal storms across Australia connect hundreds of Indigenous youths who set off on a graffitie awareness campaign. This appears to be in reaction to hastily rescinded Indigenous land rights by Australia's federal government. Using chalk, they write one word in beautiful copperplate...Mabo. Their marks are washed away by the next rainfall, but are quickly replaced.
1 The Country Within and About You Philip McLaren , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , August no. 129 2003; (p. 3, 14)
2 11 y separately published work icon There'll Be New Dreams Philip McLaren , Broome : Magabala Books , 2001 Z901276 2001 single work novel (taught in 1 units) 'A human and pacey novel about marriage, kidnap, courtroom battles, the charm of youth and the tragedy that lurks in a darkened alley. A dynamic work done by one of Australia's most highly regarded Indigenous writers.' Source: Publishers blurb.
2 4 y separately published work icon Lightning Mine Philip McLaren , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 1999 Z248642 1999 single work novel crime 'Under close guard, Aaron Shoemaker was sent to Australia to search for commercial mineral deposits, but no one predicted what his discoveries would unleash. He was used to the secrecy and threats of industrial espionage, but was totally unprepared for Aboriginal spirits and traditions. Two elders watch Shoemaker's helicopter land near their sacred sites and turn to their trusted advocate, Jarra Mariba, for help. Jarra understood commercial ploys, but how would he cope with murders, political manoeuvring and mercenaries. As the body count rises, they all wonder if the Lightning Mine will go ahead-and at what cost?' Source: Publisher's blurb.
6 10 y separately published work icon Scream Black Murder Philip McLaren , Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 1995 Z207426 1995 single work novel crime New Year's Day, Sydney. The bodies of a young Aboriginal woman and her boyfriend are discovered in Redfern, brutally murdered. Koori detectives Gary Leslie and Lisa Fuller, from the new Aboriginal Homicide Unit of the NSWPD, are assigned to the investigation. Both are determined to solve their first homicide quickly. Another killing and the tension rises fuelled by an increasingly frenzied media. (Source: Trove)
1 Maang: Bagaan Di (a Message for My Elder Sister) Philip McLaren , 1994 single work biography
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , vol. 16 no. 4 1994; (p. 24-27)
2 21 y separately published work icon Sweet Water : Stolen Land Philip McLaren , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1993 Z32091 1993 single work novel historical fiction (taught in 8 units) 'The destinies of two families, black and white, are fatally interwoven... in this frontier novel. Racial brutality and the tragic account of the Myall Creek massacre underscore the story of Ginny and Wollumbuy, Kamilaroi people of Warrumbungle Range. Mysterious killings follow the arrival Karl and Gundrun Maresch, a German couple who establish a Lutheran mission near the young settlement of Coonabarabran.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)
X