'A huge snake takes refuge under the body of a napping grandfather. A sixteen year old girl keeps three hundred head of cattle together for a couple of weeks without losing a beast. A young Aboriginal boy witnesses a man being thrown off a train onto a remote railway siding for being Jewish. Two trackers lead a police party deep into the desert to apprehend a murderer and rescue a young, abducted woman. From station life to dusty outback towns, Clarrie Cameron recreates the campfire yarns of his past on the page by deftly weaving together anecdote, wit and allegory. He captures the peculiarities and contradictions of human nature which readers all over the world will instantly recognise.' (Source: Magabala Books website: www.magabala.com)
Dedication:
I dedicate this collection of yarns to my father,
Leedham Cameron Snr, and to my Uncle George
Curley, Both of them were exceptional storytellers.
When I was small us kids would sit with out mouths open drinking up their stories...
'There are Kooris who say that outsiders cannot get our sense of humour. Of course, this is not true of everyone. Most people are able to learn the cultural and historical context that makes something funny. Clarrie Cameron’s Elephants in the bush and other Yamatji yarns shows how extensively Aborigines use comedy in everyday life. Learning this is crucial to gaining an in-depth understanding of our communities. This book deserves a wide audience because it tells us all something about how we see ourselves. These are not narrow stories about disadvantaged or disengaged victims. Yes, Cameron deals with the standard issues of colonisation. However, he does it from a point of view that does not filter out the sense of fun that is integral to the ways that Aborigines live as an altered colonised minority. Cameron’s yarns are funny, in places gentle, but they confront these important issues as effectively as any raging or pitiful plea to understand what is happening in Aboriginal communities.' (Introduction)
'There are Kooris who say that outsiders cannot get our sense of humour. Of course, this is not true of everyone. Most people are able to learn the cultural and historical context that makes something funny. Clarrie Cameron’s Elephants in the bush and other Yamatji yarns shows how extensively Aborigines use comedy in everyday life. Learning this is crucial to gaining an in-depth understanding of our communities. This book deserves a wide audience because it tells us all something about how we see ourselves. These are not narrow stories about disadvantaged or disengaged victims. Yes, Cameron deals with the standard issues of colonisation. However, he does it from a point of view that does not filter out the sense of fun that is integral to the ways that Aborigines live as an altered colonised minority. Cameron’s yarns are funny, in places gentle, but they confront these important issues as effectively as any raging or pitiful plea to understand what is happening in Aboriginal communities.' (Introduction)
