Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence

Introductory activities

Content notes

This resource contains references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed away. It also contains links to articles that are more than (or close to) 20 years old, and which may use outdated terminology. Please refer to Emma Jenkins’ advice for establishing a culturally safe learning environment and leading students safely in and safely out of sensitive material.

Be aware that exploring the experiences of the Stolen Generations may produce strong emotional responses in both students AND members of their wider community. Take care when considering this text and the important issues it raises, particularly if there are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students in your class.

While the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children occurred throughout Australia, the relevant laws and government practices varied across the nation. Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Nugi Garimara (also known as Doris Pilkington) primarily records the experiences of the Stolen Generations in remote Western Australia during the 1930s. If appropriate, you might like to explore stories from your own state or territory, OR from another specific part of the country. A useful resource is the Stolen Generations’ Testimonies project, an archive of videos recorded by members of the Stolen Generations in 2009. The website includes maps and photographs alongside footage of more than 30 survivors. It is crucial that you preview any videos you intend to share in class, as some students may find the contents distressing.

Overview

In Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence Garimara presents the true story of Molly Craig (her mother) as told to her by members of her family, and corroborated by parallel archival records from white Australia. Many people’s knowledge of Molly (14), her sister Daisy Kadibil (8), and her cousin Gracie Fields (11) – who in 1931 escaped from the Moore River Native Settlement so they could make their way home to Jigalong in Western Australia’s Pilbara region – will be based on Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film adaptation, Rabbit-Proof Fence.

This resource focuses on Garimara’s 1996 account, on which Noyce’s film was based. As an example of First Nations life writing, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence explores far more than the events depicted in the film. It imagines the historical experiences of First Nations Australians prior to European colonisation, and the consequences of invasion that followed. First Nations life writing allows writers to educate their readers (especially non-Indigenous readers) about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. Garimara’s text, therefore, documents much more than the removal of children from their families, their Country, and their culture.

The genre of life writing also allows First Nations writers to give testimony to their experiences and claim ownership of their stories. Throughout this unit, students will engage in activities where they:

• explore some of the key ideas in Garimara’s text
• consider the social, cultural, and political context of the events depicted in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
• explore the possibilities and fluid nature of life writing, and consider how Garimara’s account can educate readers and serve as a witness to history
• communicate their personal response to the text and experiment with life writing to explore their own stories and experiences
• develop their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Pre-reading activities

NOTE: As of 2024, all page references are drawn from UQP’s First Nations Classic edition of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Home

A key idea explored in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is the importance of home. We see this in Molly’s driving determination to return to her family and Country in Jigalong.

Ask students to brainstorm what ‘home’ means to them. They can share their personal experiences of this concept in small groups, and reflect on what it means to different people.

About the Martu

Garimara is a Martu (also ‘Mardu’ or ‘Mardujara’) woman from Jigalong in Western Australia. The Martu are the Traditional Custodians of the lands extending from the Great Sandy Desert to a place called Wiluna. This area falls within the Western Desert region that encompasses parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Martu Country has irregular rainfall and few permanent sources of water. The temperature ranges dramatically from –4°C to 54°C. The landscape is marked by stony and sandy plains, red sand ridges, acacia thickets, and creek beds lined with tall eucalyptus.

In 2002, after two decades of fighting, the Martu people were granted rights to more than 13.6 million hectares of their Country; at the time, geographically speaking, it was the largest ever native title settlement in Australia. It is impossible to estimate the size of the Martu population prior to colonisation, but today there are about 1,000 Martu living in Jigalong, Parnngurr, Punmu, and Kunawarritji, and another thousand living elsewhere in the state.

In Chapter 4, ‘From the Deserts They Came’ (pp. 22–41), Garimara relates how – as pastoralists and graziers expanded into the Pilbara – the Martu gradually moved from the desert to live and work on stations and in depots such as Jigalong.

Martu Wangka is the language spoken in most Martu communities, including Jigalong. The Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre provides further information about the language, with a few sample sentences translated into English.

Display the interactive Gambay First Languages Map. You might like to ask students to describe what they see, and perhaps make comparisons to a contemporary map of Australia. This is a good opportunity to demonstrate the number and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across the country. Now ask students to locate Martu Wangka on the map, and discuss the following questions:

• How might this map help develop your understanding of First Nations peoples?
• How might this map increase or reflect your understanding of the events depicted in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence?
• How might this map support the ideas communicated in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence?

What is ‘the rabbit-proof fence’?

In Chapter 4 Garimara describes the titular rabbit-proof fence. Constructed between 1901 and 1907, it is now known as the State Barrier Fence of Western Australia. You can find images of the rabbit-proof fence on this Pinterest board.

Ask students to research the history and purpose of the rabbit-proof fence. The following links may be useful:

• Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – State Barrier Fence overview
• State Library of Western Australia – The Rabbit-Proof Fence
• Library and Information Service of Western Australia – The Rabbit Proof Fence
• Golden Pipeline – No 1 Rabbit Proof Fence

You might ask students to share their research in the form of:

• a script for a short promotional film to be screened in Western Australian cinemas in the 1930s as part of a government information campaign
• a script for a radio/podcast advertisement promoting the goals of the rabbit-proof fence as part of a government information campaign

Alternatively, you could ask students to present their findings as a digital poster, infographic or pictogram (provided they are familiar with these forms). A range of apps/software is available to help students disseminate their research about the rabbit-proof fence.

The Stolen Generations

Background

The Stolen Generations is the name given to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed or made wards of the state under the assimilation policies of successive Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments. The practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families began in the mid-1800s, intensified at the end of the century, and became an official government policy in all states and territories in the 1900s.

The Bringing them Home report was tabled in Parliament in 1997, following a National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report concluded that between 1 in 10 and 1 in 3 First Nations children were forcibly removed from their families between 1910 and 1970. It also revealed the mistreatment and abuse of many First Nations children who were living in government custody. In 2008, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for the removal of children from their families, communities, and Country.

Teaching resources based on the Bringing Them Home report have been developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Department of Education and Training, and AbSec.

Defining the term

The above definition of ‘Stolen Generations’ is based on wording from the Bringing them Home report and former PM Rudd’s Apology.

You are sure to find other definitions in glossaries from syllabus and curriculum documents, for a range of subjects AND across states and territories. You should refer to as many explanations as you can, especially those written from First Nations perspectives, to develop your understanding of how to describe and define this important term. Useful sources may include:

• The Healing Foundation – Who are the Stolen Generations?
• AIATSIS – The Stolen Generations
• Common Ground – The Stolen Generations

First Australians

NOTE: Your students may already have some knowledge about the Stolen Generations, or they may know very little; you will need to adjust your approach depending on their level of familiarity.

As an introduction to the Stolen Generations, consider showing students an excerpt from Episode 5 (‘An Unhealthy Government Experiment’) of First Australians, a 2008 documentary series produced by Blackfella Films.

Before viewing, ask students to share:

1. ONE fact or piece of information they already know about the Stolen Generations
2. ONE question they have about the Stolen Generations (this may emerge from their reading of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence)

You may wish to follow these guidelines as you conduct the activity:

• Ask students to write their answers to the above prompts on separate sticky notes, perhaps using a different colour for each prompt.
• Assemble the facts in one place and the questions in another, perhaps on labelled sheets of cardboard or grouped on the classroom wall.
  • NOTE: Check each sticky note before displaying to reduce the risk of exposure to harmful stereotypes or misinformation. It may be better to display five to ten of the best facts and questions instead of the whole lot.
• Ask each student to read a fact that is not their own. Discuss this information as a class.
• Ask each student to read a question that is not their own. See if the class can answer these questions; they may be better positioned to do so after viewing an excerpt from First Australians.

Unanswered or partially answered questions will direct and motivate research for the next activity.

Synthesising task/activity

Ask students to imagine that a feature article about the Stolen Generations is being published in a magazine aimed at young adults. The article will spotlight one of the survivors who shared their story as part of the Stolen Generations’ Testimonies project (see Introductory Activities > Advice).

In pairs or individually, students will compose the copy for a box/panel that will accompany the feature article. The box should be titled ‘The Stolen Generations: What You Need to Know’. It should contain FIVE to SEVEN bullet points summarising key background information about the Stolen Generations.

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Memoir and life writing

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is categorised as a memoir on the Reading Australia website. Many people have considered how this text and the memoir form belong to the genre (or type of text) known as life writing.

Life writing involves – but also goes beyond – biography. It is a special form of creativity that utilises the writer’s memory, research skills, and powers of description to tell a story. Life writing embraces the lives of objects and institutions as well as individuals, families, and groups.

In Essays on Life Writing: From Genre to Critical Practice, Marlene Kadar describes life writing as a genre of texts that stem from writers’ personal experiences. It includes both fictional and non-fictional texts, and is primarily concerned with matters of life or the self.

Hermione Lee, in Biography: A Very Short Introduction, argues that life writing gives people different ways to tell their story through such forms as memoir, personal essay, autobiography, diary, journalism, letters, oral testimony, eyewitness accounts, blogs, social media, and even fiction. Lee argues that the process of life writing involves a blurring of the distinction between autobiography (written by the person themselves) and biography (written by someone else).

This view is supported by Max Saunders in ‘Life-Writing, Cultural Memory, and Literary Studies’ (from A Companion to Cultural Memory Studies ed. Astrid Erll and Ansgar Nünning). In fact, Saunders observes that the process of writing about another person’s life also reveals something about the biographer, as one story becomes connected to another.

What is a memoir?

‘Memoir’ is an early fifteenth century word with Latin (memoria, ‘to remember’) and Anglo-French (memorie, ‘something to be kept in mind’) roots. The definition of a memoir as a written account of someone’s life dates from the 1670s. Here are some other defining features:

• A memoir is a written account in which a person describes past experiences.
• It is a history or record composed from personal observation and/or experience of the subject matter.
• It is closely related to autobiography, in which the writer is concerned chiefly with themselves, but can also display more awareness of external events.
• The writer has usually closely observed OR played a role in the events they are depicting.
• The main purpose of a memoir is to describe or interpret the events at hand.

Features of the text

UQP’s 2002 edition of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (on which this resource is based) contains:

• a short author biography
• praise for the book
• the title page
• the copyright page
• a dedication
• the table of contents
• acknowledgments
• a map
• an introduction
• nine numbered and titled chapters
• a glossary of Mardujara words
• a list of references

Ask students to list the elements in their own edition of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (this may be the 2023 First Nations Classic edition). Then ask them to reflect on what this list reveals about the nature of the text:

• What does each element help the author (or publisher) to achieve?
• How might they contribute to the reader’s understanding of the story?

Where to begin?

Many readers will know Molly, Daisy and Gracie’s story from the film Rabbit-Proof Fence. They may be surprised to discover that Garimara’s text begins at a far earlier point in time than the film, which opens in the early 1930s.

Before shifting to the experiences of the Martu people and the girls’ journey along the rabbit-proof fence, the text imagines Noongar (also ‘Nyungar’)  life in the period prior to first contact with European colonists. The Noongar are the Traditional Custodians of south-west Western Australia, who first encountered colonists following the temporary establishment of a British military outpost at King George Sound in 1826. The founding of the Swan River Colony in 1829, and the subsequent arrival and expansion of white settlers, led to loss of family, land, culture, and autonomy for the Noongar. Garimara imagines and recounts their experiences before shifting to explore the impact of colonisation on the Martu people.

Lead a class discussion using the following prompts:

• Discuss why Garimara may have chosen to depict events that occur prior to the girls’ journey along the rabbit-proof fence.
• Consider the characterisation of figures such as Kundilla (Chapter 1) and Yellagonga (Chapter 2). How are they depicted and why are they presented in such a manner?
• What are Kundilla and Lockyer’s respective worldviews? How does Garimara contrast them to reveal alternative views about land and culture?

Garimara’s Introduction

NOTE: The First Nations Classic edition includes an additional Introduction by Tara June Winch on pp. ix-xiii; this is not to be confused with Garimara’s original Introduction on pp. xv–xix.

Many readers would be tempted to skip over the introduction in a text. Garimara’s Introduction, however, is an important element because it introduces the reader to some of the differences between white Australian and First Nations cultures and worldviews. It also reveals the challenges Garimara faced in telling this story.

One strategy for engaging students with the Introduction and earlier chapters is to use extracts from the audiobook (read by Yidinji and Meriam actor, director, and dramaturge Rachael Maza). The audiobook is widely available for purchase, via subscription, or through libraries.

In her Introduction, Garimara reveals herself to be a literate and numerate historian who is writing stories about her family. She discusses synthesising different types of knowledge in order to tell their story, such as oral history and seasonal calendars.

Ask students to imagine that they are writing a memoir about their own family. Get them to:

• make a list of all the ways they would research their family’s story
• make a list of challenges and problems they might face in the course of researching and telling this story

Afterwards, discuss:

• How does the Introduction reveal how Molly and Daisy think differently about time, place, and the way stories are told?
• From your reading of the Introduction, what challenges did Garimara face when she attempted to tell her family’s story?
• How did she seek to overcome these challenges?
• Describe some of the elements of the process Garimara used to research and tell her family’s story.

Seasonal time

Discuss with students how First Nations knowledge about plants, animals, and the seasonal calendar helped Garimara correlate the girls’ journey with the Western calendar and ways of thinking about time. Then ask students to research the use of seasonal calendars in First Nations cultures. They might focus their research on a particular community, perhaps the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which they are learning. Useful resources include:

• ABC Education – Many Lands, Many Seasons
• The Conversation – Explainer: the seasonal ‘calendars’ of Indigenous Australia
• Environment and Heritage – Aboriginal Seasonal Calendars

Students can also explore the seasonal calendars available from the Bureau of Meteorology or the CSIRO. These are community-specific and showcase knowledge from language groups around the country, including Gulumoerrgin (Larrakia), Walmajarri, Kaurna, and D’harawal (among others).

Mardujara words

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence provides rich opportunities for students to consider how First Nations life writing incorporates Standard Australian English, Aboriginal English, and languages such as Martu Wangka.

Students can discuss possible reasons for including a glossary at the end of the book, as well as Noongar and Mardujara words throughout. What is the effect of including Aboriginal languages in the memoir?

To encourage deeper engagement, you could ask students to select a Mardujara word from the text and look it up in the glossary. Words that don’t translate perfectly into English present an opportunity to explore the differences between Aboriginal and Western cultural perspectives and worldviews. You can also point out that many people, places and things that already possessed names in Aboriginal languages were given English names during the process of colonisation.

Ask students to consider that language is a vessel for the containment and delivery of cultural knowledge. By revitalising language within her text, Garimara is actively revitalising her culture.

The will to survive

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is often read as a story of survival and resistance. The key to the girls’ success was their knowledge of and connection to Country, which they learned from their families.

Ask students to read the text closely for evidence of how the girls completed their journey of 1,600 kilometres over nine weeks. They should consider how the girls:

• concealed themselves from detection by the authorities
• sourced food and water
• sourced warmth and shelter
• established their location and the direction in which they needed to travel

The following table could be used as part of a reading journal that students complete as they read Chapter 8 (pp. 92–136):

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First Nations life writing

It is essential to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into any explanation or definition of First Nations life writing. In a dedicated episode for the ABC Radio National program Awaye!, Bundjalung and Kullilli journalist, broadcaster, and writer Daniel Browning explains that, where once Aboriginal people were only ever written about, they are now taking control of their stories (06:49–07:15). He is referring to the fact that, for many years, history was written and stories were told about First Nations peoples, but never by First Nations peoples. This has resulted in widespread misconceptions not only about Australia’s history, but about what it means to be a First Nations person today.

Browning’s guest on the program is Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay historian and documentary filmmaker, Frances Peters-Little (daughter of Yorta Yorta musician, mentor, and advocate Jimmy Little). She says that life writing has become one of the primary ways that global audiences learn about First Nations histories and cultures (07:43–08:18). She notes that this term may be preferable to ‘(auto)biography’ as it is more inclusive of the way that First Nations peoples talk about their lives, encompassing not only the individual but community and Country too (09:07–10:01). Peters-Little also observes that life writing can be very accessible and can help demystify and diversify the experiences of First Nations peoples for non-Indigenous Australians (15:25–17:07).

Ask students to consider how Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence reflects Browning and Peters-Little’s views on the nature of First Nations life writing. Use the following questions as prompts:

• In what ways does Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence give Molly and Daisy agency over their own story?
• How did Garimara create an inclusive piece of life writing?
• In what ways is this text also academic and formal (at times)? How does the reader determine that the writing is NOT always academic and formal?

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Names and naming

Many First Nations people have more than one name: a European first and last name; a traditional name in their own language; perhaps a nickname, which may or may not have been assigned by Europeans. Garimara was named Nugi by her mother Molly, but Molly’s employer insisted that the baby should be called Doris.

Many Aboriginal people also have a skin name, which is a feature of the kinship system in central Australia. The kinship system is a complex system of social organisation that determines roles, relationships, and responsibilities towards society, ceremonies, and the land. It also determines, among other things, who an individual may marry.

Some Aboriginal people use their skin name in a similar way to a surname. The author’s skin name, ‘Garimara’ (also spelled ‘Karimarra’), is common to several language groups in the Pilbara that follow a four skin group system (though other language groups may go up to eight). Children’s skin names are based on (but not identical to) those of their parents, often their mother. The following table demonstrates how this system works among the Yindjibarndi people:

Student life writing

The following activity focuses on the significance and meaning of names and naming in people’s lives. Students will produce a piece of life writing, drawing from their own life experience OR that of a family member or family friend.

This activity DOES NOT ask students to write about a member of the Stolen Generations, whose stories are their own. Rather, students will have the opportunity to share their own stories, or those of a family member from whom they have sought permission to do so.

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Pre-writing

Ask students to fill out the following table using these instructions:

• Make a list of all the names you are known by.
• Identify who calls you by each of these names.
• Are there any rules or preferences you might have about who can call you a particular name?

When they are ready, students can choose ONE of the following options to complete their life writing.

Option 1: life writing about names

Students will compose a piece of life writing in which they explore the significance or origin of one or more of their names. This might include:

• the meaning or symbolism of their first name (or middle name, if they have one)
• an explanation of the origin of their family name or surname (they may have more than one)
• an explanation of how they acquired a nickname

Option 2: oral history and interview

Oral traditions are central to many First Nations cultures, and function as a primary mode for the transmission of cultural knowledge. As Peters-Little highlights in her interview with Browning, colonial society has traditionally privileged written accounts to the exclusion of all other forms of knowledge (17:07–19:02). This is why she urges listeners to record as many oral stories as they can for posterity.

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is the product of Garimara recording the stories told to her by her mother and aunt. In the same vein, this activity will allow students to engage with oral storytelling within their own family.

Students should interview a family member or close family friend about the names they have acquired over their lifetime. Remind students of the following:

• Explain to your interviewee that you are completing a piece of life writing as part of your English schoolwork, and that the audience will include your teacher.
• Ask your interviewee to consider how their name may have changed over their lifetime (e.g. through marriage, becoming a grandparent, or other connections to people and places).
• Discuss which of their stories they are happy to share with you orally, and which ones they are comfortable sharing in writing with a wider audience.
• Use your notes from the interview to complete a piece of life writing about one or more of their names.
• Share a copy of your writing with your interviewee. Note any changes they ask you to make after they have read the draft (this reinforces that writing about someone else should always be a collaborative process, in which the subject has autonomy over how their story is told).
• Remember that your interviewee owns their own life story.

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Describing and classifying the book

In various reviews and articles, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence has been described as:

• an autobiographical novel
• a true story
• a novelised version of history
• life writing
• non-fiction
• First Nations literature
• biography
• history

Allocate one or more of the above terms to small groups of students. Then give them the following directions:

• First, ask students to provide a brief definition of their allocated term. They may need to use a dictionary to assist them with their work.
• Ask students to explain, based on their reading, why Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence might have been described using this term. Do they agree or disagree with its usage? Are there parts of the text that merit this description more than others?
• Ask students to think about how this list of terms may help them to understand the nature of life writing as it relates to Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.
• Revisit the features of a memoir (Memoir and Life Writing > What is a Memoir?). Ask students which elements of the text are better suited to (or suggestive of) the term they have been allocated.

This is a good way of helping students understand how classifying something informs the way that we approach and understand it.

Hybridity

A hybrid is a mixed thing made of different elements. Ask students to discuss:

• How is Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence a hybrid text?
• Why do you think it suited Garimara to use elements of different genres in her writing?
• How might the form and structure of the text reflect her life experience?

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Comparison with other texts

Other experiences of child removal

Every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the country has been impacted by the forced removal of children. Sadly, this practice is not unique to Australia; Indigenous children have also been forcibly removed in Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Switzerland. Child migrants from Britain are another significant group that students may not have considered.

Ask students to:

• research the experiences of Indigenous peoples around the world whose children have been forcibly removed
• compare their experiences to those depicted in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence

The Australian Human Rights Commission offers resource sheets about child removal in Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa (see Section 10 – Global Comparison).

The memoir as counter archive

In ‘Aboriginal life writing and globalisation: Doris Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’, Anne Brewster suggests that Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence creates a ‘counter archive’. By this she means that Garimara’s recording of oral histories provides an alternative (or challenge) to the ‘official’, Anglocentric version of events documented by white governments and institutions.

Ask students to identify where Garimara has inserted official government records into the memoir, then have them answer the following questions:

1. Assess the reasons why Garimara may have included these texts.
2. How might they reveal white Australian attitudes towards First Nations peoples and the removal of their children?
3. How might they shape the reader’s perception of/response to the events depicted?
4. Consider how the memoir would be different if these texts were NOT included.

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Rich assessment task

Cover design

This task requires students to synthesise their learning and understanding about the memoir. They will need to evaluate what they see as being the key ideas in the text, then decide how they will represent these ideas to potential readers by utilising the conventions of a book cover.

Ask students to imagine that a new edition of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is being released for an Australian young adult audience. Students are to design the book cover for this edition. The purpose of the cover is to:

1. engage and attract readers
2. communicate the key ideas and mood of the memoir

Students should create a wraparound design with the front cover on the right, the spine in the middle, and the back cover on the left (see these templates for a visual reference). They will need to include the following:

Students should consider the message they wish to send to potential readers about the book; they should be able to summarise this in a single sentence or short phrase. It is also important that their cover communicates the appropriate tone (i.e. the writer’s attitude to their subject). Students might like to plan and collate the elements of their design in a table such this:

Students should also write a paragraph summarising the elements of their proposed cover design.

Here are some tips for students as they undertake this task:

• Look at lots of book covers for inspiration and ideas about what to include (or avoid)
• Make sure the title is large and easy to read
• Less is often more – a minimalist design can focus attention on the title and name of the author
• Include a background – avoid dead white space
• Choose one element as the focus of the design
• Choose an appropriate font – avoid curly and fussy script fonts, and research the nature and impact of serif and sans serif fonts
• Choose artwork/images that clarify what the book is about; avoid being too literal, and instead choose something that functions as a symbol of the key themes

Students might like to browse covers on the following websites:

• Book Cover Archive
• Canva – 42 book cover ideas to inspire you
• 99designs – Simple book covers

They can also visit the website for any Australian book publisher (particularly Magabala Books and UQP, who publish many First Nations authors) OR look at a Pinterest board dedicated to cover design (see examples here and here). If appropriate, students could collate their favourite covers and design ideas using a platform like Padlet. A good place to start would be to compare the covers for different editions of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (see the 2002 and 2023 editions on UQP’s website).

Images relevant to the study of the book have been collated in this Pinterest board.

Oral presentation

Once they have finished designing their book cover, students will imagine that they are pitching it to publishers at UQP. They should present their design using PowerPoint or another platform like Prezi.

In their pitch, students should explain what they see as being the key ideas in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence that they wish to communicate through their cover design. They should explain how their choice of visual and written elements communicates these ideas and specifically engages an Australian young adult audience.

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Creative writing activities: student’s choice

The following activities will give students a degree of freedom in how they respond to Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. Ask them to complete ONE creative writing task of their choosing (or TWO, if time allows) from the options below. They may also suggest and devise their own writing task in consultation with you.

Option 1: multivalent or layered symbols

A multivalent symbol is one that has multiple or many meanings. These meanings can shift across time and culture and can vary according to the context in which they are received. Colours are a good example of multivalent symbols; you might like to brainstorm how colours such as red, yellow, and white may have different meanings across cultures and time periods.

In Garimara’s memoir, the titular rabbit-proof fence symbolises:

• the failure of white Australians to control the rabbit population
• the nature of white Australians’ relationship with the environment

Ask students what else the fence might symbolise. They should consider the perspective of different readers and individuals depicted in the memoir; for example, the three girls see the fence as a source of hope and comfort (see p. 136). They will then compose a narrative inspired by a symbol that has more than one meaning.

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Option 2: carrying and being carried

A powerful gesture of cooperation and survival in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is when the girls, whose legs are covered in infected sores, take turns carrying each other (pp. 131–132). Have students compose a narrative that explores the idea of carrying and/or being carried. This should be an original concept and not related to the story of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

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Option 3: family and learning

Molly’s knowledge of the rabbit-proof fence comes from her father, who works as the inspector (p. 135). The skills that the girls have learned from their Elders (p. 132) are also crucial to their survival on their 1,600-kilometre journey home.

Have students compose a piece of life writing in which they reflect on the experience/significance of learning something from a family member.

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Option 4: writing inspired by an object

Objects can function as powerful talismans or symbols of connection to people and places. Have students brainstorm a list of special objects that reveal their connections to their family, home, community, or another special place. They will then compose a narrative, inspired by ONE of these objects, that represents the idea of family, home, or connection to place.

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Rich assessment task

Persuasive speech: ways of reading the text

Different readers will respond to a text in different ways. Their response will be shaped by such factors as the context in which they live, and other life/reading experiences.

For this task, students will compose a persuasive speech or essay in which they argue for their own interpretation of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. They will need to identify and explore their own view/way of reading the memoir, focusing on what they see as the core themes or message.

Before students identify their own interpretation of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, it may be helpful for them to know how other people have understood the text. Allow time for them to review some of the following commentary. These represent both First Nations and European perspectives.

Students should summarise each interpretation in a short phrase or sentence. They might like to use the sentence starter: ‘Extract # suggests that the book can be read as being about …’ You might like students to complete this activity in pairs or small groups and report their findings to the whole class.

Once they have considered how other people understand Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, they can work to identify their own interpretation, then move on to writing their speech or essay. You can decide which text students will produce, OR allow them to choose freely.

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