image of person or book cover 7205122866941663523.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Dark Emu : Black Seeds : Agriculture or Accident?
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Dark Emu argues for a reconsideration of the 'hunter-gatherer' tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia’s past is required.'

Source: Publisher's website.

'Pascoe puts forward a compelling argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing - behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag.'

Source: Back cover blurb. 

Exhibitions

8705502
18160460
18005706
19730752
19567105

Adaptations

Dark Emu Stephen Page , Bangarra Dance Theatre , 2018 single work drama Indigenous story

'Compelling contemporary dance, soul-stirring soundscapes and uniquely Australian stories – Bangarra is a company at the peak of its powers. In superb form after the sold-out season of Bennelong, we return in 2018 with a major new dance work, Dark Emu

'Inspired by Bruce Pascoe’s award-winning book of the same name, Dark Emu explores the vital life force of flora and fauna in a series of dance stories directed by Stephen Page. With long-time Bangarra collaborators Steve Francis (music), Jacob Nash (sets) and Jennifer Irwin (costumes) bringing their impeccable aesthetic to the production, Dark Emu will satisfy your spirit and connect you to Country.' (Production summary)

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

This work has teaching resources.

Teachers' notes via publisher's website.

Notes

  • Dedication: to the Australians
  • Author's note: "If we look at the evidence presented to us by the explorers and explain to our children that Aboriginal people did build houses, did build dams, did sow, irrigate and till the land, did alter the course of rivers, did sew their clothes, and did construct a system of pan-continental government that generated peace and prosperity, then it is likely we will admire and love our land all the more." 

  • Index Page Note:

    Contains: Rock Engraving of Emu Dreaming Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales. Photograph by Barnaby Norris.

    'Baiame, the creator Spirit Emu, left the earth after its creation to reside as a dark shape in the Milky Way. The emu is inextricably linked with the wide grasslands of Australia, the landscape managed by Aboriginals. The fate of the emu, people and grain are locked in step because, for Aboriginal people, the economy and the spirit are inseparable. Europeans stare at the stars but Aboriginal people also see the spaces in between where the Spirit Emu resides.'

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Dark Emu
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Scribe ,
      2018 .
      image of person or book cover 3268260640764871811.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 288p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 10 May 2018.
      ISBN: 9781911344780, 1911344781
Alternative title: 黑暗鸸鹋 : 澳大利亚原住民及农业的起源
Transliterated title: Hei an er miao : Aodaliya yuan zhu min ji nong ye de qi yuan
Language: Chinese
    • Shanghai,
      c
      China,
      c
      East Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
      :
      Fudan University Press ,
      2021 .
      image of person or book cover 7978692690016507883.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 279p.p.
      ISBN: 9787309157260, 7309157265

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Large print.
  • Dyslexic edition.

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Black Duck : A Year at Yumburra Bruce Pascoe , Lyn Harwood , Port Melbourne : Thames and Hudson , 2024 27820498 2024 single work autobiography

'Sometimes you need to repeat something a hundred times before a bell rings in the colony.'

'From the bestselling author Bruce Pascoe comes a deeply personal story about the consequences and responsibility of disrupting Australia's history.

'When Dark Emu was adopted by Australia like a new anthem, Bruce found himself at the centre of a national debate that often focussed on the wrong part of the story. But through all the noise came Black Duck Foods, a blueprint for traditional food growing and land management processes based on very old practices.

'Bruce Pascoe and Lyn Harwood invite us to imagine a different future for Australia, one where we can honour our relationship with nature and improve agriculture and forestry. Where we can develop a uniquely Australian cuisine that will reduce carbon emissions, preserve scarce water resources and rebuild our soil. Bruce and Lyn show us that you don't just work Country, you look, listen and care. It's not Black Duck magic, it's the result of simply treating Australia like herself.

'From the aftermath of devastating bushfires and the impact of an elder's death to rebuilding a marriage and counting the personal cost of starting a movement, Black Duck is a remarkable glimpse into a year of finding strength in Country at Yumburra.' (Publication summary)

form y separately published work icon The Dark Emu Story Allan Clarke , Jacob Hickey , ( dir. Allan Clarke ) Australia : Blackfella Films , 2023 27379425 2023 single work film/TV

'DARK EMU is a phenomenon. The book has sold more than a quarter of a million copies, received multiple awards and is one of the best-selling books of its kind. As questions arose over the merits of the contents of the book, old questions re-surfaced about the authenticity of the author Bruce Pascoe. In this feature documentary, we will delve into this search for identity, and in so doing spark yet more conversations about where we might be heading as a nation. The documentary will also be a platform for First Nations people to tell their own stories about their deep past. How new discoveries are shedding light on who their ancestors were and how they survived and prospered for at least 65,000 years on the most arid continent on earth.'

Source: Screen Australia.

Dark Emu Controversy Took Heavy Toll on Author Bruce Pascoe Myles Wearring , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , July 2023;

'Bruce Pascoe always knew his book Dark Emu would be controversial.' 

Six Capitals and a Local Book : An Experiment in Articulating the Value of Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu Julienne Van Loon , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 47 no. 1 2023; (p. 181-199)

'This article presents and discusses an experiment with Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu as an inaugural case study of how we might apply the International Integrated Reporting (<IR>) Framework to an Australian book title. It represents a novel approach to the question of how to be attentive to the problem of value in Australian culture, building on recent research by Meyrick, Phiddian and Barnett and complementing contemporary work on Australian book industry economics by Zwar, Throsby and others at Macquarie University. The results of this experiment indicate that integrated reporting, and in particular the <IR> framework—an established, rigorous and internationally recognised form of reporting—can be effectively applied to a single local book title, drawing exclusively on publicly available data in a manner that effectively and efficiently articulates types of value that exceed the economic. While the <IR> framework has its limitations, my overarching conclusion is that this form of value reporting has strong potential to contribute to timely and effective local book industry advocacy into the future.' (Publication abstract) 

Dark Emu Has Sold Over 250,000 Copies – but Its Value Can’t Be Measured in Money Alone Julienne Van Loon , Bronwyn Coate , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 8 February 2023;
Book Review: Dark Emu, Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? by Bruce Pascoe Lisa Hill , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: LisaHillSchoolStuff's Weblog 2009;

— Review of Dark Emu : Black Seeds : Agriculture or Accident? Bruce Pascoe , 2014 single work criticism
[Review Essay] Dark Emu, Black Seeds : Agriculture or Accident Michael Davis , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Aboriginal History , December vol. 38 no. 2014; (p. 195-198)

— Review of Dark Emu : Black Seeds : Agriculture or Accident? Bruce Pascoe , 2014 single work criticism
[Review] Dark Emu Lily Hirsch , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: AQ : Australian Quarterly , January - March vol. 91 no. 1 2020; (p. 21)

— Review of Dark Emu : Black Seeds : Agriculture or Accident? Bruce Pascoe , 2014 single work criticism

'Reading Dark Emu is both a stimulating and uncomfortable experience. Stimulating because of the astonishing paradigm shift it heralds for our understanding of Australia's indigenous history. Uncomfortable because of the ignominy of our collective ignorance.' (introduction)

Indigenous Writer Bruce Pascoe : 'We Need Novels That Are True to the Land' Monica Tan , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 18 February 2016;
'The writer of mixed Indigenous heritage says rather than books about white or black people, Australia needs great novelists writing truthfully about the land.'
NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist Indigenous and Climate Change Stories Linda Morris , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 14 April 2016;
'Tony Birch has been many times a bridesmaid, but there is one literary prize he wouldn't mind losing – the new standalone prize for indigenous writers announced as part of the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' shortlist on Thursday. ...'
Indigenous Storytelling Has Always Been in Our Blood Susan Wyndham , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 March 2016; (p. 2)
Pascoe’s History a ‘Vision of an Australia Yet to Be’ 2016 single work column
— Appears in: National Indigenous Times [Online] , 17 May 2016;

'Bunurong man, Aboriginal language guru and jack of all trades Bruce Pascoe has taken out one of the country’s most prestigious literary awards with his latest work, Dark Emu.'

'The Victorian writer won Book of the Year category and shared the inaugural Indigenous Prize at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards announced at the State Library of NSW in Sydney last night.'

'Ellen van Neerven’s Heat and Light shared the indigenous award and $30,000 with Pascoe.'

Recognising Sovereignty: Bruce Pascoe’s Latest Book A Dark Horse To Lead Battle Over Unfinished Business Amy McQuire , 2016 single work interview
— Appears in: New Matilda 2004-;
'Amy McQuire interviews acclaimed First Nations author Bruce Pascoe, and asks the question why Australia has so readily embraced his book – Dark Emu – and its truths. Does it now mean they must embr ace the issue of sovereignty and treaty?'
Last amended 29 Feb 2024 07:32:31
X