I arrived in Mullum from Sydney in 1976 – I loved the town and the people and felt like I belonged.
In about 2010-ish I was told, and shown paperwork, that I had family history here. In 1879 my great uncle was allocated 500 acres at Federal and moved there in 1882. He built a big house – Beechgrove – that still stands there now and in 1906 he was on the first Byron Council. His name was William John Bate. I was so proud and my sense of belonging grew even stronger – I’d show off about it sometimes (a lot!).
I could never understand the awful treatment of Aboriginal people and the more I educated myself on their plight the crankier I became.
Bruce Pascoe’s wonderful book Dark Emu finally came into my hands and I was reading it concurrently with watching the great NAIDOC Week stories (on SBS mostly) – so deep and intense.
Don’t know why it took so long, but I finally got hit with a lightning bolt when I realised that the powers that be had given Bate Bundjalung land. Truly, the reality made me feel sick – bloody white superior bastards.
I’d been thrilled to have local ancestry but now I feel ashamed to be connected (even genetically) with the dispossession of the local owners of the land. All I can hope is that Bate was a kind man.
In truth, I’d like to reincarnate him with his fat privileged face, suit, waistcoat and fob watch and slap his face.
Dugai Goonah!
To assuage your conscience I suggest you sell your land and give it to the local mob.
Or she could just go research the reasons they thought that way. It won’t be easy because you aren’t allowed to read that sort of thing. You may start to understand. Then you will be even angrier.