What White Australia Didn't Know About Aboriginal Culture | Chapter 7 | Razor-Wire Round Our Hearts

"Since we were unaware of their culture, obviously they had none." In Chapter 7 of RAZOR-WIRE ROUND OUR HEARTS, the author looks at what a white country town in the 1950s and 60s didn't know, and didn't wonder about. Every kid at the Saturday pictures could name Native American tribes, but nobody knew a single local nation's name. Even the history books she studied at school barely mentioned Aboriginal people at all. Then things begin to stir. A priest raises money to build a house for an Aboriginal elder. A town committee takes up "assimilation". And in 1957, twelve-year-old Armidale meets Harold Blair, the internationally famous Aboriginal tenor, backstage before a charity concert where her mother is the violin soloist. She remembers an excruciating awkwardness, and a smile that didn't quite work. Finally, the chapter turns to Angela, the only Aboriginal girl in her class at St Ursula's. A shy, gifted classmate who was "looked after" with enormous charm and no real friendship. The author has been rewriting her story for more than half a lifetime, and every time, the same thing happens: tears of regret. IN THIS CHAPTER A country town that "felt no curiosity" Anaiwan, Dhungatti and Gamileroi: the names nobody taught Harold Blair, Jimmy Little and Albert Namatjira, and the strange way white Australia celebrated them Assimilation, and why it can now be seen as annihilation by another name Angela, a poem about a bird in a tree, and a missed friendship CONTENT NOTE This chapter quotes offensive stereotypes and attitudes of the era, including a racist phrase, to show how they were passed on. It also depicts patronising treatment of an Aboriginal student. It is told in the spirit of truth-telling. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 0:00 Chapter 7: Beginning to see 0:00 The names nobody knew 0:00 The history books 0:00 The first Aboriginal voices on TV 0:00 Assimilation comes to town 0:00 Meeting Harold Blair 0:00 The Namatjira "honour" 0:00 Angela 0:00 A missed chance PLAYLIST Previous: Chapter 6, "Greasy..." [link] Next: Chapter 8, "Blindness" [link] Full playlist, every chapter in order: [link to playlist] ABOUT THE BOOK Razor-Wire Round Our Hearts is a memoir of race, love and reconciliation, moving from 1960s Australia to Kathmandu and back again. Its message: truth-telling can help set us free. Get the book: [link] Author website: [link] Follow: [Instagram] [Facebook] [TikTok] If this chapter moved you, please like, share and subscribe, and tell me in the comments: whose name or story were you never taught, and when did you first hear it? Acknowledgement: This chapter is set on Anaiwan Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present. #RazorWireRoundOurHearts #Memoir #FirstNations