Comments on: Lies they taught me in school about the ‘Brown People’ of this land

By: Julie Muir

Julie Muir — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 07:31:07 +0000

Thank you Mike. I look forward to reading both books. Even though I wasn’t taught all that you have spoken about, the main points that stands out for me and was taught is that Aboriginal people weren’t warriors and were nomadic hunters and gatherers and I guess (not put in this way) but easily manipulated and made to feel we were superior. I feel sick to the stomach that I wasn’t taught truthfully. Thank you again

By: Dave Berlach

Dave Berlach — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 03:28:08 +0000

In reply to Michael Frost. Indeed.

By: Michael Frost

Michael Frost — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 10:40:51 +0000

In reply to David Berlach. Thank God for teachers like Mrs Hardisty.

By: David Berlach

David Berlach — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 09:39:31 +0000

So good – thanks Mike. Gammage & Pascoe’s works are perhaps some of the most important works to come out of Australia in recent times.

In 1998 I had to choose electives for Year 11/12 in high school; I was a couple of units short after locking in Physics, Chemistry, English etc and filled them with Aboriginal Studies, which I had no clue about but assumed would be pretty easy. By Term 2 of Yr 11 I had dropped Chemistry and kept Aboriginal Studies… I was enthralled.

The teacher we had was amazing – Mrs Hardisty – and it turned out to be my favourite subject of all my time at high school. I will be forever in her debt as she opened my eyes to things hitherto unseen/unknown and gave me a sense of understanding and empathy that I may never have developed.

Gammage’s book is incredible (really an academic masterpiece) but I really admired Pascoe’s reconciliatory tone in Dark Emu – the idea that re-telling the true history of Australia could be an incredibly positive way forward; one in which all Australians can discover and learn for the first time, from perhaps one of the oldest cultures on Earth.