First published by Allen & Unwin in 2018
Copyright © Text, Emily Conolan 2018
Copyright © Cover illustration, Sher Rill Ng 2018
Copyright © Interview replies on pages 263–268, Theresa Sainty 2018
The author claims no ownership over any Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural material referenced in the story, including palawa kani language words or the important cultural practice of shell necklace making.
Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural material used with permission from Theresa Sainty. With thanks to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation for use of the palawa kani language word ‘Waylitja’. palawa kani is the revived Tasmanian Aboriginal language.
Every effort has been made to ensure that, at the time of publication, information in this book pertaining to Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural references is correct. Please contact the publisher with any concerns.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
A catalogue record for this
book is available from the
National Library of Australia
www.trove.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 1 76029 491 5
eISBN 978 1 76063 580 0
For teaching resources,
explore www.allenandunwin.com/resources/for-teachers
Cover design by Karen Scott and Sandra Nobes
Text design by Sandra Nobes and Karen Scott
Photo of Theresa Sainty on page 263 © Charles Chadwick
Vintage map on pages 280–281 © Lukasz Szwaj/Shutterstock
Photo of Emily Conolan on page 284 © Nick Tompson
www.emilyconolan.com.au
To Anwen, Ben, and all those
who call Tasmania home
WARNING: YOU MAY DIE
WHILE READING THIS BOOK.
When you read this book, you are the main
character, and you make the choices that
direct the story.
At the end of many chapters, you will face
life-and-death decisions. Turn to the page directed
by your choice, and keep reading.
Some of these decisions may not work out well for
you. But there is a happy ending...somewhere.
In the Freedom Finder series, it is your quest
to find freedom through the choices you make.
If you reach a dead end, turn back to the last
choice you made, and find a way through.
NEVER GIVE UP. GOOD LUCK.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
DEAR READER,
Let me tell you something very personal. My ancestors left England and arrived here – in Tasmania, previously known as Van Diemen’s Land, before that known as Lutruwita – when the presence of Europeans in this land was still very new.
In 1825, when this book is set, Tasmanian Aboriginal people had already been here for at least forty thousand years. My ancestors on my mother’s side had been here exactly two years. That makes me seventh-generation Tasmanian, something that people boast about these days, but my family has been here for just a pinprick of time compared to the First Nations Australians.
When I came to write this book, I had to face the uncomfortable truth that my ancestors’ home in Bothwell was built on stolen land. The violence, dispossession and disease that came about as a result of Australia’s colonisation (invasion by white people) is touched upon in this book, and in the fact files at the back. And my family played a part in that.
In writing this book, I had to dig inside myself and pull out some of the messy feelings I have about being Tasmanian. I also had to ask myself: To what extent is it okay to show young readers the kind of racism and offensive attitudes people held in 1825?
By including racist scenes and words in my book, I don’t want to help continue or spread racism. In the story, characters call Aboriginal people ‘natives’; suggest Aboriginal people need to be violently attacked in order to ‘teach them a lesson’; and show religious intolerance towards a Muslim man. That behaviour was not okay in 1825, and it is not okay now. I also didn’t want to cause hurt to any Aboriginal or non-Anglo readers, who I worried might feel upset to see those racist views in print.
But in the end, I decided it would be more hurtful to leave out the racism and pretend it never happened. Because racist words and actions did happen, and are still happening today, and it’s impossible to deal with a problem that no one will talk about. I also like to think that, since this is a book where you choose what happens next, readers like yourself might go back and forth and try out all the different scenes – including those concerning Waylitja, the fictional Aboriginal character in this story – and see how those choices work out for you and for the other characters.
Waylitja has the most beautiful name, meaning ‘parrot’. I have the wonderful Theresa Sainty to thank for that, as she named him. Theresa, a Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder, was my main cultural advisor on this story, generously sharing her time and knowledge to help make it better. See the back of the book for an interview with her.
After colonisation, the Aboriginal languages of Tasmania were left in tatters. Theresa has played a big role in bringing all the fragments of language together, to create palawa kani, a beautiful and rich language that Tasmanian Aboriginal people can use today. (See tacinc.com.au/programs/palawa-kani for more information, including the permission policy for the use of palawa kani words.)
My huge thanks go to Theresa, and to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation, for giving me permission to use Waylitja’s name and other cultural material in the story.
My gratitude also goes to Ruth Langford, Tony Brown, Denise Robinson and Tony Burgess for their time and encouragement, and to Aboriginal cultural consultant extraordinaire Lisa Fuller for her editorial advice. I’d also like to recognise that this book is set
