Books about Oz

I've read three books recently which offer a good understanding about Australian culture and history. Two specifically focus on the history of Aboriginals and the practice of Aboriginal and "mixed" children being taken away from their families to settlements to work and assimilate to white culture. Rabbit-Proof Fence (which was made into a film in 2002) by Doris Pilkington details the story of three little girls who were transported to a settlement north of Perth in 1931. They ran away, walking for over two months along the Australian rabbit-proof fence to return to their families. The book is written by the daughter of one of the young girls and is a moving account of survival against one's captors and the harsh landscape. Here's an article interviewing the director of film, Phillip Noyce. I found an interesting description of the rabbit proof fence, which was created in the early 1900's in Western Australia to keep rabbits and other unwanted critters away. It's a bit maddening that the British guy who imported the first rabbits here in the mid-1800's wanted to have them to "provide a touch of home" and "a spot of hunting". They quickly took over, causing some Australian species to become extinct and also resulting in major damage to agriculture.

I also read a book called My Place, by Sally Morgan, about her journey of discovering her family's partly Aboriginal roots. She tries to piece together a family history of the important people and events from the past that shaped her Grandmother Nan, but it is a difficult process because there are lots of secrets surrounding that history. It really gives a portrait of three generations of women, because the author begins with her own history, moves to her mother's, and finally, her grandmothers. It is well written- funny, entertaining, tragic, interesting and wise.

I just finished a book called The Dig Tree: A True Story of Bravery, Insanity, and the Race to Discover Australia's Wild Frontier, by Sarah Murgatroyd. It is a historical account of an 1860's expedition from Melbourne, Australia to explore the mostly unknown continent. It documents how the expedition was basically a political move for the state of Victoria (and, thus, Australians living in Victoria, AU) to gain fame and power. Also, they wanted to beat explorer Charles Sturt by navigating it first. Led by this guy, the exploration faced all kinds of challenges-the biggest one was probably Burke himself. I don't usually read history books, but Murgatroyd's writing flows smoothly, and she has a highly entertaining story here. I especially like the background information she gives us about the men who joined the expedition and what their motivations may have been. Check out wikipedia's entry for information on the expedition and the Dig Tree itself. For a cool and artistic website discussing the history and artistic implications of this story, dig here. I highly recommend this, it is one history book that captured my attention the entire way through.