Heather Goodall

Invasion to Embassy challenges the conventional view of Aboriginal politics to present a bold new account of Aboriginal responses to invasion and dispossession in New South Wales.

Land in Aboriginal Politics in New South Wales, 1770–1972

Invasion to Embassy

Andrew Jakubowicz

Australian society prides itself on being both multicultural and egalitarian. This book aims to challenge this perception. Through an analysis of the media - from television and radio to women's magazines and daily newspapers - the Racism and Media Research Research Group at the University of Technology, Sydney, shows that the media often present a distorted and, at times, racist image of Australian society. The authors ask why this problem of representation occurs, and what might be done to bring about a media more attuned to contemporary Australia.

Racism, Ethnicity, and the Media

Paul C. Rosier

Sylvia Hood Washington

This volume takes up the challenge of linking the focused campaigns and insights from African American campaigns for environmental justice with the perspectives of this global group of environmentally marginalized groups. The editorial team has drawn on Washington's work, on Paul Rosier's study of Native American environmentalism, and on Heather Goodall's work with Indigenous Australians to seek out wider perspectives on the relationships between memories of injustice and demands for environmental justice in the global arena. This collection contributes to environmental historiography by providing "bottom up" environmental histories in a field which so far has mostly emphasized a "top down" perspective, in which the voices of those most heavily burdened by environmental degradation are often ignored.

Global Memories of Environmental Injustice

Echoes from the Poisoned Well

Isabel Flick

'And I said that to this old fella to this old fella at the ticket box: I want you to come and fix this. Take these ropes off! What do you think we are? Our money is as good as anyone else's and we want to sit where we want to sit. I kept standing there in front of the ticket office, and by then my sister-in-law was there too. The two of us, making trouble! And my poor little heart, I don't know how it stayed in my chest' Isabel Flick was always making trouble. This is her story, told in her own words and those of her family and friends, beginning on the riverbank camps of Collarenebri, where at an early age she was barred from formal education and threatened by the Protection Board with 'removal'. She then moves from the harsh controls of Toomelah Mission to the cotton fields of Wee Waa, from cooking for the upper classes in Rose Bay to marching in the street protests of Redfern and lobbying in the halls of Parliament House. She grew up to challenge the suffocating racism of rural Australia, demanding desegregation and justice in education, work, health and before the law. But Isabel's courageous fight was not only directed at the non-Aboriginal community. She was not afraid to speak openly about injustice among her own people. All who knew Isabel were moved by her. She was the hub of a wide network within the Aboriginal community, linking the many people with whom she had worked and campaigned. She was extraordinary too in developing a strong network among non-Aboriginal people. And eventually, returning to the riverbank of the Barwon, Isabel's enormous political experience and courage were acknowledged by the non-Aboriginal people of her town. It was Isabel who was chosen by Collarenebri whites and blacks as their spokesperson during a crisis which threatened them all. Reflecting on the meaning of community, country and tradition, this beautifully crafted story is truly an inspiration - one of love, humour and courage, and always a profound sense of justice and understanding. 'If I had to name five people who are true leaders, Isabel would be one of them.' Linda Burney, MP

The many lives of an extraordinary Aboriginal woman

Allison Cadzow

We started swimming in the Georges River at Liverpool. We were river girls! It was our little stamping ground. - Judy Chester Rivers and Resilience traces the history of Aboriginal people along Sydney's Georges River from the early periods of white settlement to the present. Telling the stories of the river people, it offers insights into Aboriginal history in an urban setting. For centuries Aboriginal people lived along the Georges River. With colonisation, the river's geography forced settlers to leapfrog over its rugged and swampy bends in search of arable land. Aboriginal people retained a hold over some of the land and maintained communities - despite changes caused by the city's growth. Two leading historians investigate Aboriginal communities in this densely settled, but often overlooked, suburban area.

Aboriginal People on Sydney's Georges River

Rivers and Resilience

Invasion to Embassy challenges the conventional view of Aboriginal politics to present a bold new account of Aboriginal responses to invasion and dispossession in New South Wales. At the core of these responses has been land: as a concrete goal, but also as a rallying cry, a call for justice and a focal point for identity. This rich story is told through the words and memories of many of the key activists who were involved in the struggles on the lands and in the towns of NSW. By exploring interactions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginalpeople over land, this book enables us to understand our history through the reality of the conflicts, tensions, negotiations and cooperation which make up our experience of colonialism. Invasion to Embassy is unique in presenting NSW Aboriginal history as a history of activism, rather than a saga of passivity and victimisation. In telling this engrossing story, Heather Goodall reveals much about white Australians-not only as oppressors, but as allies and as newcomers who must in turn sort out their relations to the land.

Land in Aboriginal Politics in New South Wales, 1770-1972

Kevin Cook

This book is a unique window into a dynamic time in the politics and history of Australia. The two decades from 1970 to the Bicentennial in 1988 saw the emergence of a new landscape in Australian Indigenous politics. There were struggles, triumphs and defeats around land rights, community control of organisations, national coalitions and the international movement for Indigenous rights. The changes of these years generated new roles for Aboriginal people. Leaders had to grapple with demands to be administrators and managers as well as spokespeople and lobbyists. The challenges were personal as well as organisational, with a central one being how to retain personal integrity in the highly politicised atmosphere of the ‘Aboriginal Industry’. Kevin Cook was in the middle of many of these changes – as a unionist, educator, land rights campaigner, cultural activist and advocate for liberation movements in Southern Africa, the Pacific and around the world. But ‘Cookie’ has not wanted to tell the story of his own life in these pages. Instead, with Heather Goodall, a long time friend, he has gathered together many of the activists with whom he worked to tell their stories of this important time. Readers are invited into the frank and vivid conversations Cookie had with forty-five black and white activists about what they wanted to achieve, the plans they made, and the risks they took to make change happen. “You never doubted Kevin Cook. His very presence made you confident because the guiding hand is always there. Equal attention is given to all. I am one of many who worked with Cookie and Judy through the Tranby days and in particular the 1988 Bicentennial March for Freedom, Justice and Hope. What days they were. I’m glad this story is being told.” Linda Burney, MLA New South Wales “Kevin Cook was a giant in the post-war struggle for Aboriginal rights. His ability to connect the dots and make things happen was important in both the political and cultural resurgence of the 1970s onwards.” Meredith Burgmann, former MLC, New South Wales “Kevin has had a transformative effect on the direction of my life and the lives of so many other people. This book is an important contribution to understanding not only Kevin’s life but also the broader struggles for social and economic justice, for community empowerment and of the cooperative progressive movement. It will greatly assist the ongoing campaign for full and sustainable reconciliation.” Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia “Cookie has made great contributions in enhancing the struggles of our people. He is a motivator, an astute strategist, and an excellent communicator with wonderful people skills. It’s a pleasure to be able to call him a mate and a brother.” John Ah Kit, former MLA, Northern Territory

Heather Goodall

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