An autobiography of Australia's first Aboriginal university graduate.
'The Indigenous public servant is a relatively recent phenomenon — a product of the maturing of the programs of assimilation and the inception of the programs of self-determination. That the Indigenous administrative memoir is recent follows from this, but it is also relevant to point out that the genre Indigenous autobiography is itself not yet fifty years old. In this essay, I will tell you about three Indigenous autobiographies in which the authors (all male) have produced an account of themselves partly by reflecting on their times as a public servant. In each case, the theme ‘impersonality’ is prominent, but each time in a different way.' (Introduction)
'In February 1965 a group of young people, all but one members of Sydney University's Student Action for Aborigines, set off on a tour of a dozen New South Wales towns selected as places where Aborigines were notoriously ill-treated or segregated. The students' purposes were to conduct a sociological survey of conditions, and, where necessary, to hold demonstrations against particular examples of segregation. By the end of a fortnight, Australia's press was covering the daily confrontations, Charles Perkins was a national figure and conditions in rural towns were the subject of urgent debate amongst white citizens and administrators of Aboriginal affairs. Perhaps most important, young Koories in the towns had seen what was possible to achieve by demonstrations and publicity. Today the Freedom Ride is well known as an event, but little is known about the details. Perkins' autobiography A bastard like me is still the only published eye-witness account readily available.' (Introduction)
'In February 1965 a group of young people, all but one members of Sydney University's Student Action for Aborigines, set off on a tour of a dozen New South Wales towns selected as places where Aborigines were notoriously ill-treated or segregated. The students' purposes were to conduct a sociological survey of conditions, and, where necessary, to hold demonstrations against particular examples of segregation. By the end of a fortnight, Australia's press was covering the daily confrontations, Charles Perkins was a national figure and conditions in rural towns were the subject of urgent debate amongst white citizens and administrators of Aboriginal affairs. Perhaps most important, young Koories in the towns had seen what was possible to achieve by demonstrations and publicity. Today the Freedom Ride is well known as an event, but little is known about the details. Perkins' autobiography A bastard like me is still the only published eye-witness account readily available.' (Introduction)
'The Indigenous public servant is a relatively recent phenomenon — a product of the maturing of the programs of assimilation and the inception of the programs of self-determination. That the Indigenous administrative memoir is recent follows from this, but it is also relevant to point out that the genre Indigenous autobiography is itself not yet fifty years old. In this essay, I will tell you about three Indigenous autobiographies in which the authors (all male) have produced an account of themselves partly by reflecting on their times as a public servant. In each case, the theme ‘impersonality’ is prominent, but each time in a different way.' (Introduction)
