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Stephen Gray Stephen Gray i(A864 works by)
Born: Established: 1966 ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 The Hitchhiker Stephen Gray , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , May 2018;

'The drive south from Darwin is a long and lonely one, with few trees and fewer people – but when a mysterious figure appears by the road, a welcome companion soon becomes something much more sinister.'

1 'Dollar Dave' and the Reserve Bank : a Tale of Art, Theft and Human Rights Stephen Gray , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 22 March 2016;
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Changeover day: when Australia swapped from pounds to the new decimal currency. Nut the "C" in Changeover day might equally stand for Copyright day, for it marks the first Aboriginal copyright dispute...'
1 Sparse Memoir of a Stolen Life Stephen Gray , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 June 2013; (p. 24-25)

— Review of Too Afraid to Cry Ali Cobby Eckermann , 2013 selected work autobiography
1 Same Home, Different Stories in a Search for the Self Stephen Gray , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16-17 June 2012; (p. 32-33)

— Review of The Mind of a Thief Patti Miller , 2012 single work autobiography
1 Eugenics, Capricornia-Style : Chief Protector Dr Cecil Cook Stephen Gray , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Brass Discs, Dog Tags & Finger Scanners 2011; (p. 61-90)
1 2 y separately published work icon Brass Discs, Dog Tags & Finger Scanners Brass Discs, Dog Tags and Finger Scanners : The Apology and Aboriginal Protection in the Northern Territory 1863-1972 Stephen Gray , Darwin : Charles Darwin University Press , 2011 Z1839079 2011 single work criticism 'Is the history of Aboriginal 'protection' essentially something to be celebrated, albeit with some well-intentioned mistakes? Or is white treatment of Aboriginal people, as Justice Brennan commented in the Mabo case, a 'legacy of unutterable shame'? Was self-determination an excuse for avoiding responsibility, as some have claimed? And in pursuing the Northern Territory Emergency Response, are we just repeating the mistakes of the past - using brass discs and dog tags to 'protect' Aboriginal people from themselves?

The purpose of this book is to assess these questions by looking at Northern Territory policy towards Aboriginal people from 1863 to the beginning of 'self-determination' in 1972. It looks closely at men like Baldwin Spencer, Cecil Cook and Harry Giese, assessing them in light of recent public debates about frontier violence, sexual abuse of Aboriginal women and children, and the Stolen Generations.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 1 y separately published work icon The Protectors : A Journey through Whitefella Past Stephen Gray , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2011 11980272 2011 single work biography

'On 13 February 2008 Kevin Rudd and Brendan Nelson gave two very different apology speeches to the Stolen Generations. Rudd alluded to racism, eugenics and the immorality of past policies. Nelson spoke of benign intentions, goodness and the hurt felt by those accused of wrongdoings. Both cannot be true - or could they?
'Powerful and provocative, this is a beautifully written and very personal exploration of a little acknowledged part of Australian history - the role and motivations of the administrators and patrol officers who carried out these 'protection' policies. The questions Stephen Gray raises about guilt, judgement and good intentions apply as readily to the complexities of black/white relations today as they did one hundred years ago.
'This is an intelligent book that challenges how we judge the past and asks what exactly it was that the Australian nation said sorry for. It is a fresh contribution to white Australia's perennial search for national identity - an identity we need to now assert against the darker facts of our history on the continent.' (Publication summary)
 

1 The Albino and the Storyteller : Eugenics and the Best of Intentions in 1930s Darwin Stephen Gray , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Frontier Skirmishes : Literary and Cultural Debates in Australia after 1992 2010; (p. 295-310)
1 A Realist's Walk through an Indigenous Spirit World Stephen Gray , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3-4 February 2007; (p. 32)

— Review of Another Country Nicolas Rothwell , 2007 selected work prose
1 Going Native : Disguise, Forgery, Imagination and the 'European Aboriginal' Stephen Gray , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 170 2003; (p. 34-42)
The article discusses the phenomenon of the 'white blackfellow' and the changing motivations of Europeans 'going native'. It argues that, in reporting about their experiences of living among Aborigines, some writers, as for instance Marlo Morgan in her successful but fraudulent book Mutant Message Down Under, are living out their own fantasies and quests for spiritual fulfilment rather than representing the realities of contemporary Aboriginal people and life. The author also discusses the pros and cons with regard to more recent notion of 'cultural protocols' for non-indigenous writers in portraying Aboriginal life.
1 In Black and White or beyond the Pale - The Authenticity Debate and Protection for Aboriginal Culture Stephen Gray , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Feminist Law Journal , December vol. 15 no. 2001; (p. 105-120)
1 12 y separately published work icon The Artist Is a Thief Stephen Gray , Australia : Allen and Unwin , 2001 Z800291 2001 single work novel detective

'Margaret Thatcher Gandarrwuy is an internationally renowned Aboriginal artist from the remote Mission Hole community in the Northern Territory. Her works command high prices - until a new painting is unveiled. It is discovered slashed, with the words hastily scrawled across it, 'The artist is a thief'. Is the artist a thief? Is she to blame, or is she the victim of somebody else's fraud?

'This is a philosophical detective novel with a difference, set in a world where everyone but the 'detective' knows the rules. Jean-Loup Wild, a Melbourne financial consultant sent by ATSIC to Mission Hole, is caught between the art world, with its wealth, fashions, heroes and sophisticated private language, and the Aboriginal community with its poverty, social problems, kinship ties and unchanging traditional law. If Jean-Loup can find the artist he can begin to find the secret of what has been happening at Mission Hole. He can begin, also, to understand how the layers of that mystery lie deep in the bedrock of Australian society.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Stephen Gray: 'The Artist is a Thief' Stephen Gray , 2000 extract novel (The Artist Is a Thief)
— Appears in: Mixed Grain: Celebrating 20 Years of 'The Australian' Vogel Literary Award 2000; (p. 279-285)
1 The Morning After Wails Stephen Gray , 2000 extract novel (The Artist Is a Thief)
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 October 2000; (p. 17)
1 Blot on the Landscape Stephen Gray , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , November vol. 5 no. 10 2000; (p. 8-9)
1 1 y separately published work icon Lungfish Stephen Gray , Darwin : Northern Territory University Press , 1999 Z669161 1999 single work novel
1 Terry W. Tatham, Solicitor (from Lungfish, a Novel-in-Progress) Stephen Gray , 1998 extract
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 152 1998; (p. 55-58)
1 Party Animal Stephen Gray , 1996 single work short story
— Appears in: Extra-Territorial : Stories and Poems from the Northern Territory Literary Awards 1996; (p. 105-110)
Feeling out of place at a party, a man imbibes too much alcohol and, when he meets a young girl in a similar state, they share a seamy sexual encounter. Lamenting yet another sordid weekend, the man endeavours, unsuccessfully, to find the girl again and make something of their encounter.
1 The Barrister Stephen Gray , 1995 single work short story
— Appears in: Northern Perspective , Wet Season vol. 18 no. 2 1995; (p. 155-159)
1 Aboriginal Designs and Copyright : Can the Australian Common Law Expand to Meet Aboriginal Demands? Stephen Gray , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Happy Couple : Law and Literature 1994; (p. 241-259)
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