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https://theconversation.com/heat-terror-and-resistance-henry-reynolds-bold-new-book-takes-a-top-end-view-of-australian-history-268572>
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Review: Looking from the North: Australian History from the Top Down –
Raymond Evans (NewSouth)
When I produced the deadly earnest study
A History of Queensland back in
2007, the publishers, tucked away down south in Port Melbourne, seriously asked
me why I had not included a key section on crocodiles and yet another on the
origin of the lamington. Why did I have to have so much in there on labour and
race relations, they complained. At least they stopped short of demanding a
recipe for pumpkin scones.
Queensland historians – and indeed many of the denizens across the 2,000km
stretch of Australia’s “Deep North” – soon grow familiar with such near-comic,
general incomprehension from bemused southerners, who occasionally lift their
gaze northwards. And they generally do not have to await the judgement of
posterity to experience notable condescension from them.
Queensland is the place of crocodiles, lamingtons, bananas, Joh, rednecks,
pumpkin scones and cane toads – and that is all one really needs to know. The
Territory and the Kimberley are even less distinguished, far away somewhere
beyond the black stump. Of course, the less you know, the less you [don't] know
you don’t know.
Henry Reynolds’ latest volume attempts to put at least some of this to rights.
The tropical north offers us quite a fascinating dichotomy, even though this
demands a bit of grasping. It comprises around 45% – or almost half – of the
Australian landmass, yet holds only 5.2% of the national population, mostly
concentrated in a handful of towns, such as Cairns, Townsville, Mt Isa, Darwin
and Broome.
Does the fact that 95% of the population live below the tropic line
substantially explain the prevailing disregard – especially as the recognised
centres of cultural and intellectual excellence lie broadly within the
Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne “golden triangle” and are largely preoccupied with
their own navel-gazing?
Indeed, one might ask whether slightly more than 5% of the national population
should sensibly receive more than 5% of the national attention.
Reynolds thinks it should. This is not so much based on demography, but rather
due to the North’s territorial expanse, its economic and strategic significance
and, most importantly, the uniqueness of a history rarely considered when the
contours of national identity are delineated.
Especially in relation to two of the most pressing, present preoccupations –
“truth-telling” about First Nation dispossession and smouldering controversy
over the annual intakes and ethnic origins of migrants – the history of the
tropics has much to contribute."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
