The Protectors: A journey through whitefella past
Stephen Gray
May 2011 · Allen & Unwin
Ebook
304
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
Powerful and provocative, this is a beautifully written and very personal search to understand the men who were the protectors of Aboriginal people in Australia's north - their moral ambiguities, their good intentions and the devastating consequences of their decisions.
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.
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.
About the author
Stephen Gray is a lawyer and winner of the 2001 Vogel Award for his novel, The Artist is a Thief. He currently teaches criminal law and Indigenous legal issues at Monash University and has written extensively on Aboriginal issues.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
