50-517: Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? is a 2014 non-fiction book by Bruce Pascoe . It re-examines colonial accounts of Aboriginal people in Australia , and cites evidence of pre-colonial agriculture , engineering and building construction by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A second edition, published under the title Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture
100-561: A contribution to further investigations into Indigenous history. The first edition, entitled Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? , was published by Magabala Books in 2014. The title refers to what is known as the Emu in the sky constellation in Aboriginal astronomy , known as Gugurmin, or "dark emu" to the Wiradjuri people. A second edition, entitled Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and
150-517: A different account of the Aboriginal past, written by an Aboriginal person outside of the academy, which challenges us to think differently about how we might define Aboriginal people... it is up to archaeologists now to test Pascoe’s hypothesis". The area is on trade routes used by First Nations people. The Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, representing the native title owners, has published a framework to support culturally sensitive and ethical research in
200-450: A hunter-gatherer socio-economic system. They also criticise the work on grounds of being poorly researched, not fully sourced, and selective in its choice and emphasis of the facts. In James Boyce's opinion, their most salient criticisms include that Pascoe uses white explorers' journals, ignoring the knowledge of Aboriginal sources, and also that he generalises from local examples and claims incorrectly that such technologies were used across
250-604: A long time". Tony Hughes-D'Aeth, a researcher in cultural history at the University of Western Australia , said that Dark Emu "provides the most concerted attempt [yet] to answer the question about the quality of the country ... in the pre-colonial epoch", and that the book's strengths lie in "its ability to bridge archaeology, anthropology, archival history, Indigenous oral tradition and other more esoteric but highly revealing disciplines such as ethnobotany and paleoecology". Writer and historian James Boyce , after some discussion of
300-432: A move from foraging to farming has been questioned by historians, anthropologists and archaeologists for more than 50 years ... there was rarely a sharp line between farming and hunter-gatherer ways of life". In Farmers or Hunter-Gatherers? The Dark Emu Debate (2021), anthropologist Peter Sutton and archaeologist Keryn Walshe suggest that Dark Emu devalues pre-colonial Aboriginal society, privileging agriculture above
350-445: A non-fiction work may prove inaccurate, the sincere author aims to be truthful at the time of composition. A non-fiction account is an exercise in accurately representing a topic, and remains distinct from any implied endorsement. The numerous narrative techniques used within fiction are generally thought inappropriate for use in non-fiction. They are still present particularly in older works, but are often muted so as not to overshadow
400-669: A one-year prison sentence. Professionally he was engaged for many years in Western Australia and the ACT in youth work, community work and mental health, and specialised in developmental work. And Their Ghosts May Be Heard (1994) is a detailed exploration of the fate of the Dutch mariners cast away on the Western Australian coast in the 1600s and early 1700s. Gerritsen claimed that some 16% of Nhanda , an Aboriginal language of
450-411: A reflection in which he wrote: There has been some criticism of my book, Dark Emu , but when I read the book, [ Farmers or Hunter-Gathers? The Dark Emu Debate by Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe], which claims to repudiate it, I was amazed at how frequently the writers agreed with me. The big sticking point seems to be what we call the precolonial Aboriginal economy and culture. I don’t really care what it
500-588: A role in the development of more intensified quarrying activity and more sedentary settlement systems?". Contemporary archaeological research suggests there is not a simple dichotomy between farming and hunter-gathering by the First Australians. They say that "Gerritsen’s research and Pascoe’s popularised account have inspired and stimulated a different way of thinking about Aboriginal food production systems, and how we might investigate an archaeological record for Aboriginal village settlements... Dark Emu provides
550-778: A scandal and a hoax , and expresses deep concerns in the Aboriginal community about the story Pascoe is telling, saying that her family were not farmers, but proud of being hunter–gatherers. After Pauline Hanson's One Nation MP Mark Latham proposed in the New South Wales Parliament in June 2021 that the book should be banned from use by teachers in NSW schools (where it is not part of the curriculum, but available as an historical source for critical discussion), his motion had little support. The Minister for Indigenous Australians , Ken Wyatt , later commented that he welcomed "more people taking
SECTION 10
#1732890901322600-492: A town of 1,000 people on the Darling River. Pascoe states that towns such as the collection of stone structures at Lake Condah are evidence of sedentary or semi-sedentary Aboriginal culture. He concludes, "Permanent housing was a feature of the pre-contact Aboriginal economy, and marked the movement towards agricultural reliance." Pascoe acknowledges his debt to the work of Rupert Gerritsen , who in 2008 published Australia and
650-424: A village near Cooper Creek and offered him water, roast duck, cake and a hut to sleep in. Pascoe concludes that, "most Aboriginal Australians were ... in the early stages of an agricultural society, and, it could be argued, ahead of many other parts of the world". Pascoe provides evidence of Aboriginal dams, weirs, sluices and fish traps, and argues that pre-colonial Aboriginal people practiced aquaculture. He cites
700-479: Is also possible. Some fiction may include non-fictional elements; semi-fiction is fiction implementing a great deal of non-fiction, (such as a fictional description based on a true story). Some non-fiction may include elements of unverified supposition , deduction , or imagination for the purpose of smoothing out a narrative , but the inclusion of open falsehoods would discredit it as a work of non-fiction. The publishing and bookselling businesses sometimes use
750-613: Is called as long as Australians are allowed to know that Aboriginal people sometimes lived in houses and villages, often employed technology to harvest food and sometimes wore cloaks and sewn apparel. I want all Australians to know that their country had an automatic fishing machine, that Aboriginal people often built houses that could accommodate 50 people, that miles of aqueducts and channels had been built to harvest fish. I can’t believe anyone would not want their fellow countrywomen and men to have this knowledge about their country and not to consider what this says about our history. Whether
800-939: Is no single narrative that tells the whole story, Dark Emu might be the first step for many readers who have not previously engaged with the history of dispossession of the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Pascoe's friend, writer Gregory Day , thinks that Pascoe's book connects with general readers because "he knows what it feels like to be a whitefella – in a sense, Bruce is translating it for this whitefellas". Pascoe's book has been extensively debated in Australian media and political spheres. Several academics have criticised Pascoe's claim that since 1880 scholars have suppressed accounts of sophisticated housing and food and environmental management practices in traditional Aboriginal societies. Peter Hiscock , chair of archaeology at Sydney University , archaeologist Harry Lourandos , who documented
850-809: Is one of the two fundamental approaches to story and storytelling , in contrast to narrative fiction , which is largely populated by imaginary characters and events. Non-fiction writers can show the reasons and consequences of events, they can compare, contrast, classify, categorise and summarise information, put the facts in a logical or chronological order, infer and reach conclusions about facts, etc. They can use graphic, structural and printed appearance features such as pictures , graphs or charts , diagrams , flowcharts , summaries , glossaries , sidebars , timelines , table of contents , headings , subheadings , bolded or italicised words, footnotes , maps , indices , labels , captions , etc. to help readers find information. While specific claims in
900-751: The Netherlands conferred upon Gerritsen the honour of Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau . In August 2012 Gerritsen was awarded the Dorothy Prescott Prize for the paper, "Getting the strait facts straight", he gave at the Brisbane International Geospatial Forum. Gerritsen died in Canberra on Sunday 3 November 2013. Australia and the Origins of Agriculture and other work by Gerritsen
950-541: The Queensland Literary Awards and Victorian Premier's Award for Indigenous Writing), as well as mainstream recognition. It was reviewed by three Australian teachers' associations, earned positive reviews in other media, and, with the highest number of nominations by members of the public, was chosen to be the first book discussed in the inaugural meeting of the Parliamentary Book Club. A new edition
1000-464: The storytelling style, making it more accessible to the general reader than the more scholarly examinations of Aboriginal history in the past. The accuracy of Dark Emu has been debated in the Australian media and political spheres, and a number of academics have criticised Pascoe's thesis that Indigenous Australian society was based to such a large extent on sedentary agriculture rather than hunting and gathering . It has, however, been welcomed as
1050-500: The Birth of Agriculture was published in June 2018, and a version of the book for younger readers, entitled Young Dark Emu: A Truer History , was published in 2019. The 2019 version was shortlisted for the 2020 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature in the Children's Literature Award section. In Dark Emu Pascoe draws on the writings of early British settlers and recent decades of scholarship to argue that traditional Aboriginal society
SECTION 20
#17328909013221100-681: The Future", Pascoe advocates for changes in current Australian methods of agriculture and lifestyle. Pascoe says that Australia could learn from Indigenous culture and landcare, replacing wheat with native grasses and eating kangaroo rather than cattle . The book received critical acclaim, winning two NSW Premier's Literary Awards (Book of the Year and the Indigenous Writers' Prize) and being shortlisted for two other prizes (the History Book Award in
1150-551: The Origins of Agriculture put forward evidence that some Indigenous Australian groups in traditional circumstances were engaged in food production, including agriculture , and lived in large permanent settlements. Gerritsen was a Petherick Researcher at the National Library of Australia from April 1995. and focussed his research and writing on early Australian history. In recognition of his work on Australian pre-history and its Dutch influence, in 2007, Queen Beatrix of
1200-499: The Origins of Agriculture , which argued that some Aboriginal people were farmers as much as hunter-gatherers. Pascoe also draws on the work of historian Bill Gammage , author of The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia (2012), which looks at how Aboriginal people used fire , dams and cropping to support themselves sustainably in their environment. In the last two chapters of Dark Emu , titled "Australian Agricultural Revolution" and "Accepting History and Creating
1250-536: The area. Non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction ) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith , to convey information only about the real world , rather than being grounded in imagination . Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively based on historical, scientific, and empirical information. However, some non-fiction ranges into more subjective territory, including sincerely held opinions on real-world topics. Often referring specifically to prose writing, non-fiction
1300-417: The book's strengths and weaknesses, says that, although a "flawed attempt", the book's appeal is to "a community of folk who ... are eager to learn from and engage with First Nations peoples and their heritage"; Pascoe is a skilled storyteller, and Dark Emu is a significant cultural achievement because it has engaged these readers, where many other examples of scholarly information have not done so. While there
1350-455: The boundaries between fiction and non-fiction are continually blurred and argued upon, especially in the field of biography ; as Virginia Woolf said: "if we think of truth as something of granite-like solidity and of personality as something of rainbow-like intangibility and reflect that the aim of biography is to weld these two into one seamless whole, we shall admit that the problem is a stiff one and that we need not wonder if biographers, for
1400-462: The central west coast of Western Australia , was apparently derived from Dutch as a result of interaction with marooned sailors. This discovery led to major reevaluation in the perceptions of the early prehistory, in that Aboriginal Australians were not mute witnesses to the unfolding events of history but active participants who embraced parts of European culture long before the British settlement of
1450-473: The construction of eel traps in Victoria in the 1970s, and Ian McNiven of Monash University 's Indigenous Studies Centre all agree that there is a large body of published work on the topic. However, Lourandos and McNiven are delighted at the book's success in reaching the broader public. Some academics have specifically addressed the debate surrounding Dark Emu ' s thesis that Indigenous Australian society
1500-571: The continent. However, the claim that there is an identifiable Dutch influence on the Nhanda language has been strongly refuted by linguists who have studied the Nhanda language. Gerritsen also researched the location where two mutineers from the Batavia mutiny, possibly Australia's first European settlers, were marooned on 16 November 1629. As a consequence of his research Gerritsen established that Hutt River , 500 kilometres (310 mi) north of Perth ,
1550-660: The continent. However, he is also critical of some aspects of Sutton and Walshe's work. Aboriginal human rights advocate Hannah McGlade , a Noongar woman and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues , writes in The Australian that Dark Emu is "misleading and offensive to Aboriginal people and culture" and that it "is not very truthful or accurate". Warrimay historian Victoria Grieve-Williams, also in The Australian , calls Dark Emu
Dark Emu - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-617: The excitement of the discovery of the wreck of the Batavia in 1963 and came to know some of those involved in its discovery and the discovery of other 17th and 18th century shipwrecks on the coast of Western Australia . From 1960s through to the 1980s he was involved in radical politics, anti-conscription, and social activism. In 1972 he placed a bomb in the Perth office of the Department of Labour and National Service . According to his obituary, it
1650-419: The help of a range of structures or formats such as: And so on. Common literary examples of non-fiction include expository , argumentative , functional, and opinion pieces ; essays on art or literature; biographies ; memoirs ; journalism ; and historical, scientific , technical , or economic writings (including electronic ones). Rupert Gerritsen Rupert Gerritsen (1953 – 3 November 2013)
1700-477: The history is 65,000 or 120,000 years or more, we know that it is the oldest human civilisation on earth. It’s not about a culture being better or worse than any other, it’s about the true history of the land and how the First Nations culture managed their economy and society. And how that sovereignty was taken away. It still surprises me that airwaves melt down when someone suggests that the invasion of Australia
1750-412: The information within the work. Simplicity, clarity, and directness are some of the most important considerations when producing non-fiction. Audience is important in any artistic or descriptive endeavour, but it is perhaps most important in non-fiction. In fiction, the writer believes that readers will make an effort to follow and interpret an indirectly or abstractly presented progression of theme, whereas
1800-406: The most part failed to solve it." Including information that the author knows to be untrue within such works is usually regarded as dishonest. Still, certain kinds of written works can legitimately be either fiction or non-fiction, such as journals of self-expression, letters , magazine articles, and other expressions of imagination. Though they are mostly either one or the other, a blend of both
1850-478: The phrase " literary non-fiction " to distinguish works with a more literary or intellectual bent, as opposed to the bulk of non-fiction subjects. Based on the author's intention or the purpose of the content, the main genres of non-fiction are instructional, explanatory, discussion-based, report-based (non-chronological), opinion-based (persuasive) and relating (chronological recounting) non-fiction. Non-fictional works of these different genres can be created with
1900-415: The production of non-fiction has more to do with the direct provision of information. Understanding of the potential readers' use for the work and their existing knowledge of a subject are both fundamental for effective non-fiction. Despite the claim to truth of non-fiction, it is often necessary to persuade the reader to agree with the ideas and so a balanced, coherent, and informed argument is vital. However,
1950-426: The soil, mere hunter-gatherers"; however, they challenge the implicit Eurocentric idea that agriculture is the result of "progress" on a continuum from hunter-gathering, or that such an evolutionary hierarchy exists. They argue Western terminology lacks nuance, and "Communities have shifted between these categories and moved back and forth as suited their needs". James Boyce echoes this view: "The 'progress' inherent to
2000-480: The time to read Dark Emu and consulting Mr Pascoe’s references to verify or disprove his assertions as we do with various academic studies or research ... What’s important here is that we are open to hearing other people’s perspectives, contemplating and genuinely engaging in working constructively together to reconcile our understandings". On 11 September 2021, Pascoe published in the Sydney Morning Herald
2050-514: The work of archaeologist Heather Builth and palynologist Peter Kershaw and concludes that sites at Lake Condah in western Victoria are elaborately engineered eel and fish traps associated with permanent stone buildings built by the Gunditjmara people around 8,000 years ago. Pascoe quotes nineteenth century accounts of Aboriginal people living in villages and towns with sturdy huts, the largest of which could accommodate 30-40 people. Sturt reported
Dark Emu - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-615: Was an Australian historian and a noted authority on Indigenous Australian prehistory . Coupled with his work on early Australian cartography , he played an influential part in re-charting Australian history prior to its settlement by the British in 1788 , and noted evidence of agriculture and settlements on the continent before the arrival of settlers. Rupert Gerritsen was born in Geraldton , Western Australia in 1953, of Dutch parents. He grew up in Geraldton , where he experienced first hand
2150-703: Was characterised by agriculture, aquaculture, elaborate engineering, villages of permanent structures, and other features which are incompatible with the view that Aboriginal Australians were only hunter-gatherers. He states, "The belief that Aboriginal people were 'mere' hunter-gatherers has been used as a political tool to justify dispossession." Pascoe quotes Charles Sturt , Thomas Mitchell and other explorers and settlers who describe Aboriginal hayricks, stooks, crops and villages, and Aboriginal people practising seed selection, soil preparation, crop harvesting, and storing surplus crops. He also describes Sturt's 1845 encounter with hundreds of Aboriginal people who were living in
2200-702: Was influential in the shaping of Bruce Pascoe 's acclaimed work, Dark Emu . Gerritsen was co-founder, along with Peter Reynders, of Australia on the Map : 1606–2006 , and was that organisation's National Secretary. At his death he was chair of its successor organisation, the Australia on the Map Division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society which aims to make Australians more aware of Australia's early history and heritage, beginning in 1606. Under
2250-540: Was just that, an invasion. Archaeologist Michael Westaway and Joshua Gorringe consider Dark Emu in relation to the archaeological research in the Channel Country in central Australia, which has identified more than 140 sandstone quarry sites, including the largest seed grinding quarry site in Australia, the remains of pit dwelling huts known as gunyahs and evidence of trade with other communities as far away as Mount Isa , and asks "Could this trade system have played
2300-608: Was largely built on sedentary agriculture rather than hunting and gathering. Anthropologist Ian Keen argues against Pascoe's thesis that Indigenous Australians practised agriculture. He concluded that "Aboriginal people were indeed hunters, gatherers and fishers at the time of the British colonisation of Australia ", although acknowledging "the boundary between foraging and farming is a fuzzy one". Historians Lynette Russell and Billy Griffiths wrote that Pascoe had drawn together an enormous amount of ethnographic evidence showing that Aboriginal peoples "were not hapless wanderers across
2350-1006: Was published in 2018. By mid 2021 the book had sold 250,000 copies. There is an audiobook and ebook version. Historian Bill Gammage , whose 2012 work The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia influenced Dark Emu , praised Pascoe's gift for weaving a narrative that challenges many readers' preconceptions. He admired the book for its impact, but added that Pascoe sometimes romanticises pre-contact Indigenous society, and his claims that Stone Age Indigenous people invented democracy and baking may be "push[ing] these things too far". Lynette Russell , at Monash University 's Indigenous Studies Centre and co-author of Australia's First Naturalists: Indigenous Peoples' Contribution to Early Zoology , admired Dark Emu' s achievement in popularising ideas that challenged European Australians' cultural preconceptions. She said that it had managed to promulgate more widely "information about indigenous land management practices that archaeologists have known for
2400-510: Was published in mid-2018, and a version of the book for younger readers, entitled Young Dark Emu: A Truer History , was published in 2019. Both the first and the children's editions were shortlisted for major awards, and the former won two awards in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards . The book has also proved very popular with the Australian public, selling 250,000 copies by mid-2021. Its strengths have been said to lie in
2450-463: Was the site where Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye first set foot on mainland Australia . These discoveries wrought a complete change in the methodology of recording Western Australian pre-history . Many subsequent scholars have embraced this new historical paradigm in their works. After the appearance of Ghosts , Gerritsen published a range of papers and monographs in diverse fields, from archaeology to historical linguistics . Australia and
2500-402: Was timed to go off in the early hours when the offices should be empty, and was aimed at destroying conscription files. The crude bomb failed to detonate. After the attempted bombing, he fled to Melbourne where he was arrested and extradited to WA. While on bail he fled to New Zealand where he was caught and was again extradited back to WA. At trial he pled guilty to placing the bomb and served
#321678