Bill Rosser Bill Rosser i(A48646 works by) (a.k.a. B. R.)
Born: Established: 13 May 1927 Toogoolawah, Toogoolawah area, Esk - Lowood - Toogoolawah area, Rosewood - Laidley - Gatton area, South East Queensland, Queensland, ; Died: Ceased: May 2002
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Wadjalang
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BiographyHistory

Bill Rosser was a celebrated Aboriginal writer, historian and poet. A member of the Wadjalang people, he grew up in Queensland and left school at age eleven. Unable to read or write, Rosser educated himself with the aid of a dictionary. He travelled extensively and settled on Palm Island, where he wrote his first book (This Is Palm Island, 1978).

Rosser has published a large number of books and won many awards, including the Australian Human Rights Award, the Queensland and New South Wales Premiers' Awards and the 1991 RAKA Award for his book Up Rode the Troopers: The Black Police in Queensland (1990). He also wrote Ethnicity and the Student: A Treatise on Racism in Schools (1993).

Rosser passed away in May 2002. It was his ambition to share the beliefs and philosophies of Aboriginal people with all people, to foster greater understanding between cultures.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Up Rode the Troopers : The Black Police in Queensland St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1990 Z1365158 1990 single work prose

'In this chilling story of the infamous Queensland Native Police Force, a murderous band of black troopers led by white officers. Rosser's investigations were triggered by the story of Cyclone Jack of the Bandjalung people, who recounts the atrocities witnessed by his grandfather and father (then a boy of five). Cyclone Jack's disturbing oral account is backed and skilfully crosscut with careful documentary research and leavened with gentle, at times, raucous, humour. [Rosser] has produced a compellingly readable account, in vivid, flesh-and-blood terms, of little-known events from Queensland's suppressed past.' (Back cover).
1991 inaugural winner Australian Centre Literary Awards — The Kate Challis RAKA Award — Creative Prose
y separately published work icon Dreamtime Nightmares : Biographies of Aborigines under the Queensland Aborigines Act Dreamtime Nightmares : Eight Biographies of Queensland Aborigines Under the Queensland Aborigines Act Canberra : Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies , 1985 Z1350317 1985 anthology biography A collection of interviews of eight Aboriginal people about their experiences in the sheep and cattle industries. These life stories reflect the harsh treatment and living conditions inflicted upon Aboriginal workers on the stations in the north-western areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory border.
1987 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Multicultural NSW Award
1986 winner Stanner Award
1987 winner Human Rights Awards — Literature and other writing
y separately published work icon Dreamtime Nightmares : Biographies of Aborigines under the Queensland Aborigines Act Dreamtime Nightmares : Eight Biographies of Queensland Aborigines Under the Queensland Aborigines Act Canberra : Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies , 1985 Z1350317 1985 anthology biography A collection of interviews of eight Aboriginal people about their experiences in the sheep and cattle industries. These life stories reflect the harsh treatment and living conditions inflicted upon Aboriginal workers on the stations in the north-western areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory border.
1987 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Multicultural NSW Award
1986 winner Stanner Award
1987 winner Human Rights Awards — Literature and other writing
VIEW ALL AWARDS
Last amended 11 Sep 2024 14:40:42
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