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We come from the desert

Monty Hale (Minyjun)

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Winner of the 2013 WA Premier's History Award. We come from the desert is the story of Minyjun (Monty Hale), a senior Ngulipartu man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Written in his own...

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Winner of the 2013 WA Premier's History Award.

We come from the desert is the story of Minyjun (Monty Hale), a senior Ngulipartu man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Written in his own language and in English, Minyjun shares with us his extraordinary life, from his family's migration from the desert to the station country of the eastern Pilbara, his childhood growing up on Mt Edgar Station, witnessing Australia's engagement in World War II, and the famous Pilbara station-worker's strike of 1946.

Minyjun takes us through his experiences as a part of the co-operatives formed by the strikers; travelling, hunting and working throughout the Pilbara to support the group. And through the well-documented split of the cooperative that led to Minyjun retaining an allegiance to Don McLeod, a key spokesperson for the Aboriginal workers during the 1946 strike.

These stories are also deeply personal. We learn about Minyjun's relationship with Nalma, a woman who was 'wrong side' for him. Together they left the group and went into hiding, remaining away from their community for a number of years before their marriage was finally accepted.

We come from the desert is a story rich in humour and in the ways of Ngulipartu culture. It is because of Minyjun's remarkable memory, his vast cultural knowledge and his strong desire to leave a record of his life that we are able to share in this unique story of a Pilbara man.

Production Details
  • Paperback
  • 270mm x 225mm x 15mm
  • 256pp
  • Released March 2012 
  • ISBN 9780855758301
Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Nyirrirnikartijangaku- Preface
Editor’s note
Key people
Maps
Chapter 1: Childhood
Chapter 2: Strike time, 1946–50
Chapter 3: Mining times, 1950–55
Chapter 4: Working on the coast, 1955–59
Chapter 5: The Split and the early 1960s
Chapter 6: Elopement
Chapter 7: Yurtingunya (Strelley), 1973–85
Chapter 8: Bereavement, 1985
Chapter 9: The later years
Appendixes
Bibliography and further reading
Notes
Index

About The Author
Minyjun is a senior Ngulipartu man and a leadin g authority on the Nyangumarta language of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. He is also an educator, and played a key role in the establishment and operation of the first independent, community -run Aboriginal school in Australia. Minyjun continues to teach others in the language and history of his people
About The Cover

Cover design by Rachel Ippoliti, Aboriginal Studies Press

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