monarchy and to Britain. In a very real sense, the publication of children’s literature in
Australia is a reflection of the voices of power in the land.
Early works of children’s fiction are noted for their poor treatment of Aborigines and
Aboriginal themes, characters are stereotypical, non-Aboriginal viewpoints are dominant
and the ‘strange and ‘exotic are emphasised. Mary and Elizabeth Durack’s Way of the
Whirlwind (1941) was an exception, although even this book was a fantasy, meant to
entertain the children who lived on the Durack’s remote cattle station.
There are books about Aboriginal lifestyles today and these are published by small
community printeries in any one of the fifty known Aboriginal languages which survive
(with more than one thousand speakers). Those which are published in English by the
commercial publishers are usually written by non-Aboriginal writers; for example,
Jeanie Adam’s picture book Pigs and Honey (1989) reflects with warmth and
understanding the family life of people living in Aurukun, a tradition-oriented
community, and her books have been endorsed by the community. Similarly, Bill Scott,
befriended by the Kabi tribesmen in southern Queensland has published his version of
Murrie (Aboriginal in north-eastern Australia) stories in Boori (1978) and other titles. It
is with the permission of the community that the stories have emerged in published form
but still he is an interpreter of a culture not his own. Australian publishers of children’s
books need to find and foster writers and illustrators who are themselves Aboriginal and
who do not need these interim interpreters. Successful examples for older readers are
Wild Cat Falling (1965/ 1992) by Mudrooroo (Colin Johnson), The First Born and Other
Poems (1970) by Jack Davis. A very positive development is the steady output by
Magabala Books, which was established in north western Australia exclusively to
publish works by Aboriginal people. From this source has emerged titles such as Narelle
McRobbie’s Bip the Snapping Bungaroo (1990) and Gracie Green, Joe Tramacchi and
Lucille Gill’s Tjarany/Roughtail (1992). Bold illustrations, original to Aboriginal people
intensify meaning and design impact for readers, young and old. Local languages and
information about today’s customs and cultures add further insight.
The Development of Colonial PublishingThe origins of published children’s literature in Australia actually lie within the efforts of
the monocultured, class-bound English who were conscious of the need to bring
civilisation to children of a convict colony—a colony of ‘mother England’. No evidence is
to be found of stories written during the first half century of the colony’s struggle for
survival but in 1820 there were 6,688 children (23 per cent of the total population) who
had been born in the colony (Bigge 1823:80). Free settlers, along with those holding
pardons, expirees and ‘ticket of leavers’ began to make their mark in the colony during
the 1830s. Shipbuilding was established; there were the beginnings of the prosperous
pastoral industry; the colony was almost self-sufficient in foodstuffs (in the short term)
and the transportation of convicts to New South Wales had ceased by the time the first
(known) children’s book emerged from the colony: A Mother’s Offering to Her Children: By
a Lady Long Resident in New South Wales (1841). It was a book in question and answer
format written by a governess, Charlotte Barton. The didactic intention was uppermost,
as the young reader learned about the struggles within the colony along with natural
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