AustLit

'Representations of Australian colonial frontier history in film are often fraught and contested affairs, doubly so when dealing with Aboriginal history. Some present a bleak vision, as white colonists in a harsh natural environment overcome adversity and ‘tame the land’ that includes Aboriginal people who become marginalised figures, victims of white racism. Grappling with this Australian film tradition is what we see in Western Australian writer-director Roderick MacKay’s ambitious first feature film, The Furnace. Here, Aboriginal people are depicted as strong, family-oriented, empowered people, proud of their culture. And The Furnace is something of a slow burn minor Australian masterpiece.' (Introduction)

'This is not the first Australian literary work of note to be called Rooted. Alex Buzo’s play of the same name caused some fuss in 1969, when his Norm and Ahmed was causing even more, with its actors in Melbourne and Brisbane being charged with using offensive language. They said fucking – the devastating racial slur it modified at the play’s end was apparently of less concern. In the half century since, racial slurs have displaced obscenity as ‘the bad language of our times’ (242). Tracking such shifts is one of the great strengths of Laugesen’s fascinating account of Australians’ historical use of profanity, obscenity, expletives and derogatory language.' (Introduction) 

'James Scullin and John Curtin were both Labor Prime Ministers at times of national crises. Scullin led Labor to electoral victory in October 1929. Prime Minister Bruce had called an early election after he was unable to pass legislation to streamline Australia’s arbitration system. Less than two weeks later, Wall Street crashed and Scullin had to manage the ensuing Depression. Curtin became Prime Minister after the Coalition government fell on the floor of the house in October 1941. Two months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. Scullin’s government was torn apart by the conflicting demands of labour and capital, whereas Curtin’s government successfully mobilised the country for war. Where Curtin’s achievements have been lauded and intensely researched, Scullin has been seen as a tragic figure and has attracted little historical interest. This book remedies this somewhat, bringing him into the same frame as Curtin to explore their shared political formations in the early labour movement.'  (Introduction)

 (Introduction)

'Sue Taffe first heard of Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881–1961), or ‘Mimi’, while conducting oral history interviews with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal activists for an earlier book about the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Their term for Bennett, ‘spiritual mother’, stuck with the author. In this book, Taffe provides a detailed and convincing biographical interpretation of a young woman growing up between two worlds. The book focuses for almost half its length on Bennett’s early life, between her pioneer Scottish pastoralist father in Australia and her London artist mother in England and Europe.' (Introduction)