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'"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.)
Notes
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Dedication: For my dear departed brother, Roderick, who encouraged me to tell this story. He kept reminding me that it was 'my story'.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Voice : A Journal of Comment and Review , December no. 40 2011; (p. 19-22)
— Review of The Comfort of Water : A River Pilgrimage 2011 single work diary ; Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , November vol. 4 no. 1 2011;
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Kitchen-Table Talk of Life on a Mission
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8-9 October 2011; (p. 35)
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: National Indigenous Times , 7 July vol. 10 no. 229 2011; (p. 66)
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Yarra Pilgrimage and an Artist's Journey
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 16 July 2011; (p. 28-29)
— Review of The Comfort of Water : A River Pilgrimage 2011 single work diary ; Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography
-
Off the Shelf : Memoir
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25 June 2011; (p. 30)
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Yarra Pilgrimage and an Artist's Journey
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 16 July 2011; (p. 28-29)
— Review of The Comfort of Water : A River Pilgrimage 2011 single work diary ; Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: National Indigenous Times , 7 July vol. 10 no. 229 2011; (p. 66)
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Kitchen-Table Talk of Life on a Mission
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8-9 October 2011; (p. 35)
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , November vol. 4 no. 1 2011;
— Review of Black Swan : A Koorie Woman's Life 2011 single work autobiography
Awards
- Lake Tyers Mission Station (1861-1971),
- 1950s
- Lake Tyers, Lakes Entrance area, East Gippsland, Gippsland, Victoria,
- Ararat, Ararat area, Grampians - Pyrenees area, Victoria,
- Lake Tyers Mission Station (1861-1971),