Aboriginal Australians
From: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Series: RN Focus: Worlds Apart
Length: 59:33
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- Aboriginal Australians
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Dheera Sujan brings us back to her native Australia with two deeply moving stories. Both are personal accounts of Aboriginals, who - like many older generation Native Americans in the US - were taken from their homes at an early age and 'relocated' to be schooled and molded into mainstream white culture.
Part 1:
Aboriginal children, especially the lighter coloured ones were as late as the 1960’s often taken from their greifstricken families to be raised in orphanages or fostered out to white families. In the case of the Collards – the family featured in this programme – children were separated which meant that they grew up to inhabit different worlds. While one suffered abuse and neglect, another was brought up in the white way. Today the children and their parents are trying to come to terms with being worlds apart.
Part 2:
Until relatively recently many aboriginal children in Australia were taken from their families and their homes and put into orphanages or fostered out to white families. Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter were both part of this so called “Stolen Generation.” Archie met Ruby on the streets when they were both teenagers and they’ve been together ever since. They’re amongst the “lucky ones” as they’ve managed to channel their pain into their music. The programme is liberally sprinkled with the songs that Archie wrote and sings together with Ruby.
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Piece Description
Dheera Sujan brings us back to her native Australia with two deeply moving stories. Both are personal accounts of Aboriginals, who - like many older generation Native Americans in the US - were taken from their homes at an early age and 'relocated' to be schooled and molded into mainstream white culture. Part 1: Aboriginal children, especially the lighter coloured ones were as late as the 1960’s often taken from their greifstricken families to be raised in orphanages or fostered out to white families. In the case of the Collards – the family featured in this programme – children were separated which meant that they grew up to inhabit different worlds. While one suffered abuse and neglect, another was brought up in the white way. Today the children and their parents are trying to come to terms with being worlds apart. Part 2: Until relatively recently many aboriginal children in Australia were taken from their families and their homes and put into orphanages or fostered out to white families. Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter were both part of this so called “Stolen Generation.” Archie met Ruby on the streets when they were both teenagers and they’ve been together ever since. They’re amongst the “lucky ones” as they’ve managed to channel their pain into their music. The programme is liberally sprinkled with the songs that Archie wrote and sings together with Ruby.
Transcript
Part 1:
First Teasers session ’31 –
I just remember crying crying crying… ….too heartbreaking to tell, bloody wicked
INTRO
Radio Netherlands The Sound Fountain presents “Worlds Apart; the Story of the Collard Family”. Produced by Dheera Sujan
Mix down id 6’35
id 4’14 + e taken (2’21) = 6’38
My name is GC… … ….my wh influence had lot to do with how I think I guess
Session- Glynnis taken 4’18 – with water sounds under first bit of clip
I still remember the day that my nana … ....really different thing
SFX – faint echo sound of kids singing, playing
11’30
Glynnis – abuse at SK’s 2’03
I really started hating, hating people from 3… ….hear that for years after
SFX – under next clip –– night sounds
Gl – men abusing 2 1’24
One time one man… ..what you were taught
SFX – kids playing
Glynnis ranaway 1’45
When I...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
Part 2:
Carrier Title “Charcoal Lane” Perf + comp Archie Roach. Aurora Mush32013.2. All the tracks have the same info.
“took the children away” (tr 6) 0’00 – fade around ‘52
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Anthea Raymond
Posted on August 12, 2006 at 05:13 PM | Permalink
Review of Aboriginal Australians
FOUR STARS
Snatched from their mother's breast
Said it was for the best.
These lyrics come from the anthemic ?Took the Children Away,? by aboriginal singer-songwriter Archie Roach. He and his partner Ruby Hunter are profiled in the second half hour of this excellent package from Radio Netherlands on the ?stolen? generation of Aboriginal Australians. Young black Australians were taken from their parents in the 1950s and 1960s and raised in institutions or foster families.
The first half hour focuses on the Collard family ? and two Collard daughters who were ?stolen?. One, Glynnis, grew up ?black? and ended up, first, in foster institutions and then on the streets. Her sister, Ellen, with lighter skin, was raised white. Producer Dheera Sujan makes the wise decision to ?drop out? of the program here, letting the characters speak in their own words.
Glynnis's words are shocking and exceptional, especially when she speaks about being ?presented? to white men at age 12. They become still more powerful when they bump up against sister Ellen?s story about meeting her real ?black? family, after living for years with her white one.
One quibble: This block of material begins about ten minutes into the program -- after a section establishing the Collard?s family history, material that lost me as a listener and may not be necessary. I wonder if it will also lose others, especially those not used to Australian accents. Maybe stations can tell listeners: it's worth the wait.
The profile of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter in Part Two, ironically, benefits from the presence of producer Sujan. She shares her experiences as a white Australian growing up in the 1970s. Archie Roach?s reflections on racism and the untranslatable experience of being black are valuable and fresh.
The two programs are packaged together in Radio Netherland?s series ?Worlds Apart?. The series looks at indigenous peoples bridging modern and traditional ways. Either could stand as a half hour speaking to some of the questions about race engaging American audiences today.
Anthea Raymond
Editorial Board
Los Angeles
August 12, 2006