“ Look at it this way – when people travel overseas the first thing, they do is learn a handful of words, learn the local language – please and thank you and hello and goodbye, maybe even where is the supermarket? People do it because it makes life easier but they also do it out of respect…Īnd then we’re all migrants here, even those first-fleet descendants, we forget we’re all in someone else’s country.” The focus on intergenerational trauma as well as the strength of connection to land and culture was inspiring. The dictionary was genius giving us a real sense of the Wiradjuri language including pronunciation. This is a remarkably clever reconstruction of a history largely forgotten and untold in Australia. The third is a series of letters from Reverend Greenleaf of German background who set up a Mission for Aborigines in the late 1800’s. She’s embraced by her grandmother and aunties and must confront the reasons for running away. August flies home from England for Pop’s funeral and faces the family she ran from many years earlier. The second story is from his granddaughter’s point of view. He peppers the meanings with stories of his family, his past and his culture in the hope that none of it will be lost. Pop (Albert Goondiwindi) composes a dictionary of Wiradjuri words. There are actually three stories all cleverly constructed to relate to each other: This highly awarded book is an evocative and eye-opening read from Australian (Wiradjuri) author Tara June Winch.
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