Keelen Mailman Keelen Mailman i(A149018 works by)
Born: Established: Augathella, Augathella - Tambo - Blackall area, South West Queensland, Queensland, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Bidjara Nation
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.

BiographyHistory

'Keelen Mailman was born in Augathella to a poor Aboriginal family with a history of alcoholism. Now she is the first female station manager for Mt Tabor, home to her native Bidjara people.' (Source: Allen & Unwin website)

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Rural farmer, Augathella, Queensland

Personal Awards

2020 recipient Order of Australia Member of the Order of Australia (AM) For significant service to the Indigenous community of Queensland.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Power of Bones The Power of Bones : From a Troubled Childhood to Running a Cattle Station One Woman's Heartbreaking but Uplifting Story of Triumph Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2014 7265508 2014 single work autobiography

'It looked bleak and predictable for little Keelen Mailman: an alcoholic mother, absent father, the horrors of regular sexual and physical assault and the casual racism of a small outback town in the sixties. But somehow, despite the pain and deprivation, the lost education, she managed to absorb her mother's lessons: her Bidjara language and culture, her obligations to Country, and her loyalty to her family.

'So it was no surprise to some that a girl who could hide for a year in her own home to keep her family together, run as fast as Raylene Boyle and catch porcupine and goanna, would one day make history. At just 30, and a single mother, Keelen became the first Aboriginal woman to run a commercial cattle station when she took over Mt Tabor, two hours from Augathella on the black soil plains of western Queensland. This is the heartland of Bidjara country, after all, the place her mother and grandparents and great-grandparents had camped on and cared for, and where their ancestors left their marks on caves and rock walls more than 10,000 years ago.

'In this unflinching memoir, the warmth of Keelen's personality, her determination and her irresistible humour shine through as she recalls her extraordinary life. ' (Publication summary)

2014 nominated Queensland Literary Awards The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year
Last amended 27 Jan 2020 15:29:56
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X