Issue Details: First known date: 2019... 2019 A Forgotten Picture : Race, Photographs and Cathy Freeman at the Northcote Koori Mural
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A dramatic photograph, published in 1994, depicted Australian athlete Cathy Freeman running at Northcote's Koori Mural in inner-north Melbourne, beneath scenes of Aboriginal elders in chains in the late nineteenth century. Two months later, she famously posed for photographs carrying the Aboriginal flag in a victory lap following her win in the 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games. While the flag photographs remain an iconic image of sport and race in Australia, the Northcote photograph is forgotten. This article explores the history of the Northcote photograph—its background, the image itself, and the aftermath of publication. We analyse the discursive contexts of exposure and elision: unlike the flag pictures, which spoke to the present and to a recognised and saleable discourse (national pride), the Northcote mural image pointed to a more difficult and less palatable discursive relationship with the past (racism, abuse and disenfranchisement).' 

 (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Journal of Australian Studies (Re)thinking 1968 and Its Legacy in Australia vol. 43 no. 2 2019 16854195 2019 periodical issue  'Did Australia have a 1968? This might at first seem a fairly counterintuitive question. None dispute the year’s significance: a new Prime Minister took the reins after Harold Holt’s disappearance off Cheviot beach, the Vietnamese Tet Offensive shattered myths of American superiority, W. E. H. Stanner’s Boyer Lectures broke the “great Australian silence”, and the nation’s first Women’s Liberation group formed. Yet, for most commentators, the action lies elsewhere. For Robin Gerster and Jan Bassett, 1968 arrived “via airmail subscription” while social commentator Hugh Mackay proffered the year’s late arrival in the form of Gough Whitlam’s triumphant 1972 election.' (Evan Smith & Jon Piccini, Editorial introduction) 2019 pg. 203-217
Last amended 25 Jun 2019 15:55:43
203-217 A Forgotten Picture : Race, Photographs and Cathy Freeman at the Northcote Koori Muralsmall AustLit logo Journal of Australian Studies
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