WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER | THE LOFT – 100 BOUNDARY STREET, WEST END 4101 (ABOVE ARCHIVE BEER BOUTIQUE)
6pm for a 6.30pm start | 60 mins
Ashley Hay will be in conversation with Tom Griffiths for his book Alice’s dreaming. With opening remarks from Mithaka Elders, George Gorringe and Rainy McKellar.
ABOUT THE BOOK
An astonishing work of history about a girl and the Indigenous world she encountered
Early last century, Alice Duncan-Kemp grew up on a remote Queensland cattle station. Later she would write down her childhood memories of learning from Aboriginal women and men at home on their own Country. In her books, she evoked a rich parallel universe of storytelling and lore, which she felt privileged to witness. She also spoke of an informal local treaty that curbed the violence of the frontier.
What are we to make of ‘Alice’s dreaming’ today? Master historian and writer Tom Griffiths takes us into – and beyond – this revelatory encounter. Through it we glimpse the turmoil of a complex and tragic frontier, and a remarkable story of survival and cultural resilience. In recent years, the Mithaka people Alice lived among and wrote about have reclaimed their Country, drawing in part on her writing to support their claims.
Alice’s dreaming shows how moving, intimate – and unexpected – history can be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Griffiths is a writer and historian whose work has won prizes in literature, history, science, politics and journalism, including the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History and the Douglas Stewart and Nettie Palmer Prizes for Non-Fiction. His books include The Art of Time Travel, Hunters and Collectors, Forests of Ash and Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica. He is Emeritus Professor of History at the Australian National University.
Alice’s dreaming has been reviewed by QRC. Click on the title to read our review.