The Protectors. A Journey Through Whitefella Past

Cover Type: Softcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Jacket Condition: None Issued
Publisher: Allen And Unwin
Publisher Place: Crows Nest
Publisher Year: 2011
Edition: First Edition

Description: 296 pages. Ex-Library. Book is in Very good condition throughout.

Publishers Description: Powerful and provocative, this is a beautifully written and very personal search to understand the men who were the protectors of Aboriginal people in Australias norththeir moral ambiguities, their good intentions, and the devastating consequences of their decisions. On February 13, 2008, Kevin Rudd and Brendan Nelson gave two very different apology speeches to the Stolen Generations. Rudd alluded to racism, eugenics, and the immorality of past policies. Nelson spoke of benign intentions, goodness, and the hurt felt by those accused of wrongdoings. Both cannot be trueor could they Powerful and provocative, this is a beautifully written and very personal exploration of a little acknowledged part of Australian historythe role and motivations of the administrators and patrol officers who carried out these "protection" policies. The questions Stephen Gray raises about guilt, judgement, and good intentions apply as readily to the complexities of black/white relations today as they did 100 years ago. This is an intelligent book that challenges how we judge the past and asks what exactly it was that the Australian nation said sorry for. It is a fresh contribution to white Australias perennial search for national identityan identity we need to now assert against the darker facts of our history on the continent.

ISBN: 9781741759914