Articles

Every Hill Got A Story: collected First Nations oral histories are a profound gift to national memory | Paul Daley

Bequeathed from memory to memory, these records remind us how recently central Australian Indigenous people felt the upheaval of colonialism

Massacres recounted in chilling detail, recollections of the first time an Aboriginal person saw a camel or a car, and the double-edged harshness and compassion of missionaries might, for many non-Indigenous Australians, seem like the preserve of a foreign and distant world.

What makes a great political speech? Let’s talk about oratory, my fellow citizens | Paul Daley

The leader must be willing to go beyond party politics, and demonstrate humanity, candour and raw emotion

Of all the millions of words uttered on the hustings during this unedifying federal election campaign, few, if any, will be remembered as having soared to any great oratory heights.

These days election stump speeches tend to be quickly devoured in the voracious churn of the perpetual news cycle, and largely parsed in disconnected chunks for their strategic and market-tested messaging rather than their cadences and artistry.

This picture tells the story of a prison that was – and remains – medieval for Aboriginal inmates | Paul Daley

Indigenous prisoners at Roebourne in the scorching Pilbara still suffer in cells without air-conditioning, like they did 120 years ago

The more things change for many Australians the more they stay shamefully the same for Indigenous people in Western Australia’s ill-named “justice system” – particularly if they happen to be jailed at Roebourne in the Pilbara.

How to Make Gravy is already a movie that plays in our heads. That’s its brilliance | Paul Daley

Like all great writing, the song ceased to be Paul Kelly’s once he launched it into the world. We claimed his characters

It makes perfect sense that Paul Kelly’s quintessentially Australian song How to Make Gravy is going to be adapted into a film.

Paul Cleary on land rights, native title and big mining

Paul Cleary documents the Yindjibarndi community’s resistance and fight against Fortescue Mining Group. It’s an ongoing David versus Goliath story that has taken decades, and even gone to the high court

Title Fight by Paul Cleary is published by Black Inc.

The following statement was provided by Fortescue Mining Group CEO, Elizabeth Gaines on 1 April 2022:

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A war memorial sponsored by weapons dealers is no place for quiet reflection on Anzac Day | Paul Daley

With boastful displays and arms maker sponsors, the memorial falls ever shorter of duty to commemorate the toll of war

Checking in on Anzac Day commemorations at the Australian War Memorial today? If so, besides paying appropriate respect to our service personnel, perhaps consider just how contorted the official memorialisation of war has become in this country.

I never imagined flying could be so exciting, but everything old is new again | Paul Daley

From the forgotten bustle of the airport to feverish bad photos of the harbour below, an interstate trip brings fierce joy

I never imagined that an interstate trip could be so exciting.

But when your world shrinks the way it has since the pandemic hit Australia two-and-a-bit years ago, and then slowly expands, only to contract and gradually open up yet again, the most prosaic experience attains new meaning.

‘I am Bob. Just Bob’: could a Wollongong folk hero have had a Nazi past?

The steel city once knew him as a migrant made good who contributed a great gift to the arts. But one man has been digging into the true identity of Bob Sredersas

You can read the original article here: ‘I am Bob. Just Bob’: could a Wollongong folk hero have had a Nazi past?

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