Maralinga’s Long Shadow: Yvonne’s Story

Maralinga’s Long Shadow: Yvonne’s Story by Christobel Mattingley (Allen & Unwin) PB RRP$19.099 ISBN 9781760290177

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

The first thing to notice about this book is how beautiful it is, like a small work of art from the title page with its background of indigenous pattern artwork  through its almost 200 pages with good quality paper and numerous photographs, black and white and coloured. The typeface is brown, easy on the eye, and the whole design of the book is considered and attractive.

Award-winning author Christobel Mattingley, a white woman from Adelaide, honours the legacy here of Yvonne Edwards, a highly respected and community elder who was born near the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) at Ooldea in 1950. The artwork is Yvonne’s, and so is the country shown in the photos. Yvonne’s mother was one of the Anangu family while her father was white (a walypala). Her Aboriginal name was Tjintjiwara and her mother tongue was Pitjantajara. As her child she learned how to carve artifacts, skin rabbits, make damper and draw in the sand. And, too, she learned the stories of the Dreamtime.

However, the Anangu family was told to leave by the white people and sent to the country of another Aboriginal family. Meanwhile, at an Anangu place called Maralinga, white people were planning something which would cause long, slow and painful dying to Yvonne’s husband and two of her sons. Maralinga, of course, was the site of atomic bomb testing.

In clear and obviously well-researched fiction, Mattingley relates Yvonne’s story from her birth through her upbringing. Like many indigenous children, she was taken from her family for a while, but then returned to the Lutheran mission. When the girl was pre-pubescent, the atomic testing – almost 100 kilotons of explosives – occurred near the mission. It went on from 19653 to 1957 with elderly people dying and some blinded. More personal disaster occurred for Yvonne when her first born son was taken from her by Welfare: it would be 20 years before she saw David again.

This beautifully written and designed book is sure to be of interest not just to young readers, but for anyone with an interest in the life of a woman whose life and those of her clan was affected by decisions made by ignorant white people. Maralinga cast a very long shadow, but throughout her life Yvonne triumphed, finding her gift as an artist in her later years. In 2012 after a turbulent life which included the loss of close family, Yvonne died at the age of 61. Happily a copy of Maralinga: The Anangu Story was brought to the hospital for staff to see what an important person they were caring for.

Mattingley met and befriended Yvonne six years before her death, but had to wait for two years after her friend’s death, as is Aboriginal custom, before she could write her book. It is a moving tribute to a wonderful woman.

Rockhopping

Rockhopping written and illustrated by Trace Balla (Allen & Unwin) HB RRP$24.99 ISBN 9781760112349

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

From its front cover and then onto its fly pages and title page with numerous illustrations of Australian flora and fauna, it’s obvious this graphic picture book is about venturing into our country’s bush. First, though, Balla acknowledges the cooperation of a number of Aboriginal organisations which gave her permission to include cultural references. Indeed, throughout the book Balla has chosen to use Jardawadjali/Djab Wurrung place names followed by English names in brackets. The story is set in Gariwerd (the Grampians) and acknowledges those clans whose country it is.

The first page starts with a boy and a man lolling in a boat wondering where the (Glenelg) river water comes from and the man responding, ‘How about we go and find out something, kid?’ Thus it is that Uncle Egg and ten year old Clancy spend some time organising for a long walk and then the beginning their trek. The story is told in comic book style with lots of small and detailed illustrations showing things such a spread of what they take with them and later the vast wilderness. On the trek, which Clancy often finds strenuous and tiring, there are many adventures and some misadventures, such as when he falls off a rock onto an outcrop.

Throughout the story the reader checks out the many plants and animals along the way, all of which are labelled. Clancy communes with nature up close and from afar and learns much from being still and observant. On day five, he and Uncle Egg come upon the river which has Clancy wondering about the history of the place – of gold-miners, Chinese gardeners, squatters, bushrangers, and of course, natives who lived off the land.

There is a lot of writing in this book which isn’t story text; Balla thanks many people who collaborated with her to create the book, including numerous Indigenous peoples. It would take days to read every single word and examine all of the illustrations. The drawings in this book are wonderful and will reward the patient reader with many hours of discovery and learning. No doubt Clancy and his uncle’s adventure will resonate with children who enjoy bushwalking with their families, and might even inspire them to take an extended walk.

This is Balla’s second book, the first, Rivertime, winning the Readings’ Children’s Book Prize, the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award and short-listings in three other state and national book awards. This one, too, is sure to win awards. Suitable for readers 6+ years.

Kick it to Me

Kick it to Me by Neridah McMullin, illustrated by Peter Hudson (One Day Hill)
HB RRP $19.99
ISBN 9780980794861
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Hallelujah, the AFL season is nearly upon us again! But if it wasn't for Tom Wills and the Australian Aboriginal game of Marn-grook we would not have Australian Rules football at all. Kick it to Me captures the very beginnings of the greatest of sports, Australian Rules football, in this beautifully presented picture book.

Neridah McMullin takes us back to 1846 when a young Tom Wills lives in western Victoria and has his first contact with Marn-grook. Despondent over the end of the cricket season, Tom is searching for something to do. When his friend Jirra introduces him to the athleticism and fun of Marn-grook, Tom is gobsmacked and enthusiastically joins in.

Peter Hudson's colourful and lively illustrations have a freshness and vitality about them and the expressions of joy on the boys' faces as they play Marn-grook with their friends are a highlight of the book. Being Melbourne born and bred (and with a Sherrin for a soul) I can tap into this emotion. Football is exciting, it brings everyone together, it's fun!

Following the story, a fascinating biography of Tom Wills is included. Tom Wills has been credited with being the instigator of Australian Rules, blending aspects of different sports and developing the rules to create this unique game.The interaction in the text between Tom and the Aboriginal boys accurately depicts Wills' friendship with the local Djab Wurrung tribe whose language he became fluent in. As a youth, Wills attended school in Rugby and went on to study at Cambridge. On his return to Victoria, he became a leading sportsman and lobbied for a football club to be formed, working towards developing an Australian code.

There is also glossary of Aboriginal words and a forward by the Collingwood Football Club president, Eddie McGuire.

Kick it to Me is a book for young sports fans and a reminder of how Australia has managed to combine aspects of indigenous and European culture to come up with our own unique game and contribution to the sporting world.