Showing 1–12 of 26 results
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Into the Heart of Tasmania: A Search For Human Antiquity
Artist/Author: Taylor, Rebe$35.00 Add to cartThis book is a winner of multiple literary awards.
In 1908 English gentleman, Ernest Westlake, packed a tent, a bicycle and forty tins of food and sailed to Tasmania. On mountains, beaches and in sheep paddocks he collected over 13,000 Aboriginal stone tools. Westlake believed he had found the remnants of an extinct race whose culture was akin to the most ancient Stone Age Europeans. But in the remotest corners of the island Westlake encountered living Indigenous communities.
Into the Heart of Tasmania tells a story of discovery and realisation. One man’s ambition to rewrite the history of human culture inspires an exploration of the controversy stirred by Tasmanian Aboriginal history. It brings to life how Australian and British national identities have been fashioned by shame and triumph over the supposed destruction of an entire race. To reveal the beating heart of Aboriginal Tasmania is to be confronted with a history that has never ended.
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Rattling Spears: A History of Indigenous Australian Art
Artist/Author: McLean, Ian$40.00 Add to cartLarge, bold and colourful, Indigenous Australian art has made an indelible impression on the contemporary imagination. But it is controversial, dividing the stakeholders from those who smell a scam. Whether the artists are victims or victors, there is no denying their impact in the media and on the art world and collectors worldwide. How did Australian art become the most successful indigenous form in the world? How did its artists escape the ethnographic and souvenir markets to become players in an art world to which they had previously been denied access? Finely illustrated, and now available in paperback, this full historical account makes you question everything you were taught about contemporary art.
‘Provides what instructors of indigenous Australian art have long been waiting for: a textbook on the genre. Though one can find a multitude of museum and exhibition catalogues and books on the art of specific regions of Australia, this is the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the unfolding of indigenous art across time and place, across styles and borders, and across cultures . . . Clearly organized and well written, the content is theoretical and factual, and McLean supports the discussion with excellent illustrations. One of the most important publications on the topic to date. Highly recommended.’ — Choice
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Living with the Locals: Early Europeans’ Experience of Indigenous Life
Artist/Author: Maynard, John, Victoria Haskins$45.00 Add to cartLiving with the Locals comprises the stories of 13 white men, boys and women who were taken in by the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait islands and of eastern Australia and who lived in their communities between the 1790s and the 1870s, from a few months to over 30 years. The white people had been shipwrecked or had escaped the confines of penal servitude and survived only through the Indigenous people’s generosity. Many of them were given Indigenous names—Bunboé, Murrangurk, Duramboi, Waki, Giom, Anco. They assimilated to varying degrees into an Indigenous way of life—several marrying and learning the language—and, for the most part, both parties mourned the white people’s return to European life.
The stories in Living with the Locals provide a glimpse into Indigenous life at the point of early contact between Indigenous people and British colonists. It was a time when negative attitudes towards Indigenous people gave rise to misinterpretation of events and sensationalised versions of the stories. However, many of the white survivors spoke up against the appalling treatment of the Indigenous people, and advocated for conciliation and land rights. They also were unwilling to reveal Indigenous beliefs and customs to unsympathetic colonists.
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The People of Budj Bim
Artist/Author: Wettenhall, Gib, contributions from the Gunditjmara people$28.00 Add to cartIn 2009, carbon dating found that a fishtrap system at Lake Condah in south-west Victoria was an incredible 6,700 years old. Constructed by the Gunditjmara people, it is one of five sophisticated fishtrap systems that were built around the lake’s edge. A permanent supply of freshwater and abundant eels, fish and water plants meant the Gunditjmara led a settled life there – an experience without parallel among Aboriginal societies and landscapes in Australia. The People of Budj Bim brings to life the amazing, unknown story about their traditional eel aquaculture systems and associated stone house settlements, once dotted throughout the lakes, streams and ponds on the Mt Eccles lava flow in south-west Victoria. Known as the Budj Bim landscape, it was the setting for what Robbery Under Arms author, Rolf Boldrewood, called the Eumeralla War, a six year battle fought by Gunditjmara clans against squatters taking over their land. Budj Bim was the first Indigenous landscape to gain National Heritage listing in 2004.
The full colour book with images throughout provides an accessible, plain English introduction to the Budj Bim landscape and its Indigenous history
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The People of Gariwerd: The Grampians’ Aboriginal Heritage
Artist/Author: Wettenhall, Gib$28.00 Add to cartThe People of Gariwerd draws on a new interpretation of the Grampian region’s archaeology by La Trobe University and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria in collaboration with Gariwerd’s Aboriginal communities. It tells how Aboriginal people have maintained an intense and unbroken relationship with the peaks and plains of Gariwerd since the last Ice Age to the present day. It recounts how, in the eons prior to European settlement, they lived together, managed the land, and used the landscape as a map telling them how to live. With over 120 rock art sites catalogued, the Gariwerd-Grampians ranges have a richer and more diverse record of Aboriginal occupation than any other place in southeastern Australia.
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Traditional Healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari
Artist/Author: NPY Women's Council Aboriginal Corporation$50.00 Add to cartTraditional Healers of the Central Desert contains unique stories and imagery and primary source material: the ngangkari speak directly to the reader. Ngangkari are senior Aboriginal people authorised to speak publicly about Anangu (Western Desert language speaking Aboriginal people) culture and practices. It is accurate, authorised information about their work, in their own words.The practice of traditional healing is still very much a part of contemporary Aboriginal society. The ngangkari currently employed at NPY Women’s Council deliver treatments to people across a tri-state region of about 350,000 sq km, in more than 25 communities in SA, WA, and NT. Acknowledged, respected, and accepted, these ngangkari work collaboratively with hospitals and health professionals even beyond this region, working hand-in-hand with Western medical practitioners. -
Body and Soul: An Aboriginal View
Artist/Author: Peile, A.R.$68.00 Add to cartThis extraordinary book describes the conceptualisation of the human body, soul, and health by the Kukatja people, who now live at Balgo, in the far north of Western Australia.
To date, this book represents the only published attempt to assemble an account of the views of an Aboriginal people concerning the body and its soul or spirit, how they function, understanding their healthiness, applying suitable traditional medical practices to keep them operating efficiently and finally showing how all these intermesh to form a coherent system of knowledge.
No one else has taken the approach made by Peile, and enquired into how the entire set of beliefs and practices related to well-being can be conceptualised as an individual person, to make it a unified body and soul
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The Sydney Language (New Edition)
Artist/Author: Troy, Jakelin$40.00 Add to cartThe Sydney Language was written to revive interest the Aboriginal language of the Sydney district. It makes readily available the small amount of surviving information from historical records. Author, Professor Jakelin Troy refers to the language as the ‘Sydney Language’ because there was no name given for the language in these historical records until late in the nineteenth century when it was referred to as Dharug.
The language is now called by its many clan names, including Gadigal in the Sydney city area and Dharug in Western Sydney. The word for Aboriginal person in this language is ‘yura’, this word been used to help identify the language, with the most common spellings being Iyora and Eora.
The Sydney Language is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about the language and culture of the Aboriginal owners of what is now called Sydney.
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Noongar Bush Tucker: Bush Food Plants and Fungi of the South-West of Western Australia
Artist/Author: Hansen, Vivienne, John Horsfall$35.00 Add to cartBefore the colonisation of Australia, Aboriginal Australians lived on a wonderful larder of fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meat, in a land largely free from disease, with more exercise, less stress and supportive communities.
Today, in Aboriginal communities all over Australia, there are higher instances of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, some types of cancer and lung diseases than in the general population.
This book is an attempt to preserve bush tucker knowledge for future generations of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to ensure the information is not lost with the passing of Elders.
The authors describe over 260 species of the edible plants and fungi that were regularly gathered by the Noongars of the Bibbulmun Nation of the south-west of Western Australia before and after colonisation. Many of these plants and fungi are difficult to find today because of land clearing for crops and the farming of sheep and cattle.
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Warndu Mai (Good Food): Introducing Native Australian Ingredients to Your Kitchen
Artist/Author: Sullivan, Rebecca, Damien Courthard$45.00 Add to cartThis gorgeous illustrated, informative and contemporary cookbook and compendium of native foods will show you how to create truly Australian food and drinks at home. With a few small adjustments and a little experimentation you can prepare delicious food that is better for the Australian environment, is more sustainable and celebrates the amazing ingredients that are truly local. Warndu Mai (Good Food) contains information about seasonal availability, hints, tips and over 80 illustrated and accessible recipes showcasing Australian native foods, using ingredients such as Kakadu plum, native currants, finger lime and pepperberry to create unique dishes and treats – from wattleseed brownies, emu egg sponge cake and bunya nut pesto to native berry, cherry and lime cordial, strawberry gum pavlova and kangaroo carpaccio. It’s a must-have for every kitchen.
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Australia’s First Naturalists: Indigenous Peoples’ Contribution to Early Zoology
Artist/Author: Olsen, Penny, Lynette Russell$45.00 Add to cartWould Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson have ever crossed the Blue Mountains without the help of the local Aboriginal people? The invaluable role of local guides in this event is rarely recognised.
As silent partners, Aboriginal Australians gave Europeans their first views of iconic animals, such as the Koala and Superb Lyrebird, and helped to unravel the mystery of the egg-laying mammals: the Echidna and Platypus. Well into the twentieth century, Indigenous people were routinely engaged by collectors, illustrators and others with an interest in Australia’s animals. Yet this participation, if admitted at all, was generally barely acknowledged. However, when documented, it was clearly significant.
Penny Olsen and Lynette Russell have gathered together Aboriginal peoples’ contributions to demonstrate the crucial role they played in early Australian zoology. The writings of the early European naturalists clearly describe the valuable knowledge of the Indigenous people of the habits of Australia’s bizarre (to a European) fauna.
Australia’s First Naturalists is invaluable for those wanting to learn more about our original inhabitants’ contribution to the collection, recognition and classification of Australia’s unique fauna. It heightens our appreciation of the previously unrecognised complex knowledge of Indigenous societies.
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I am Uluru: A Family’s Story
Artist/Author: Cowley, Jen with the Uluru Family$40.00 Add to cartI am Uluru: A Family’s Story gives a glimpse into the hitherto untold story of the family entrusted as traditional owners and custodians of arguably Australia’s most iconic landmark – Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) and that country, which has been home to the Anangu (people of the Central Desert) for tens of thousands of years. The story begins at the relatively recent point in history known as “first contact” and follows the highs and lows of the family (and all Anangu’s) struggle to adapt to the increasingly European world while still holding on to their deeply traditional faith and way of life. Told with an intoxicating mix of personal recollection – in their own words – and well-researched and sensitively crafted creative and contextual narrative, the book takes the reader on a journey of discovery and enlightenment, but makes neither judgement nor conclusion – the reader is left to digest the knowledge and reach their own understanding. This book is not an exercise in finger pointing – it is simply one unique family’s contribution to the cultural landscape that has for too long been misunderstood, misrepresented and marginalised through a lack of understanding. The book is not an exercise in finger-pointing, it simply aims to open up as much of a traditional world as possible so that others might come to a place of greater understanding about the value of maintaining that sacred culture. Crafted over the course of three years of intensive contact on country with the elders of the Uluru family, the book has been described as “an important work”, “a great read”, “beautifully written”, “an emotional roller coaster” and “something all Australians should read”. First-person accounts from Uluru family members across three generations are stitched together with carefully researched contextual narrative and sensitively crafted creative storytelling to form a unique and well-rounded overview of a remarkable family’s history. I am Uluru is not only a thought-provoking and page-turning read, it is a document of national cultural significance and a tool of genuine reconciliation.
