Dropbear

Cultural sensitivity notes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this resource may contain the names of deceased persons.

Some students may also find certain themes and ideas in Dropbear confronting. For support around teaching sensitive texts, listen to this 2021 episode of the VATE Village podcast featuring Nirvana Watkins and Emma Jenkins. See also this culturally sensitive teaching guide by Cara Shipp.

Introductory activities

Connections to land, Country, nationalism, and patriotism

Evelyn Araluen is a Goorie and Koori poet, editor, and researcher born and raised on Dharug Country in Western Sydney (and now living on Wurundjeri Country in Greater Melbourne). She is an academic and co-editor of the Overland literary journal and has won several literary prizes for her work. Several of her poems are available from Red Room Poetry, including some audio and video recordings.

In Dropbear, Araluen challenges colonial views of Australia, Australians, and Indigenous peoples, critiquing colonial literature and developing her own ‘anti-colonial’ and ‘decolonial’ literature in direct response. As a way in to the complex ideas in this text, view and discuss the following three sources.

Source 1: Wide Brown Land (2010) by Marcus Tatton, Chris Viney, and Futago

This sculpture at the National Arboretum in Canberra represents Australians’ simultaneous love and fear of the harsh climate and Country. It refers to a line from the famous Dorothea Mackellar poem ‘My Country’. Before the devastating 2003 Canberra bushfires, the Arboretum was a thriving pine plantation. Today, it stands as a site of healing and regeneration, which represents many Australians’ experiences of living on the land, particularly farmers who rely on the land for their livelihood.

Settlers arriving in Australia immediately set out to manage the land as they would in England and other European countries, and quickly found the challenges were overwhelming: the heat and long periods of drought and bushfire, followed by periods of flood, meant that the soil and habitat wasn’t suited to European animals and plants. Pastoral life was characterised by a battle to conquer the land – a battle to stay alive. There is a wide body of pastoral poetry that documents this battle, showing settlers’ feelings of both awe and fear of the land. In the early 1900s, Mackellar’s family owned several properties in and around Gunnedah, NSW. Her poem was, at the time, a protest against people who complained about the harsh land and preferred the climate and conditions of Europe/England.

Possible discussion questions:

• How does the sculpture Wide Brown Land interpret the themes and imagery presented in Mackellar’s poem?
• Discuss the significance of the term ‘wide brown land’ in both the poem and the sculpture. What does it represent about the Australian landscape and identity?
• What do you think life was like for early settlers trying to establish farms in this country?
• How does the sculpture’s framing of the surrounding land, valleys, and hills contribute to the overall experience and interpretation of the artwork? What emotions or thoughts does this framing evoke in the viewer?
• Consider the significance of the Arboretum as the site for the sculpture – how might Mackellar’s defence of the harsh Australian climate support Canberrans to ‘heal and regenerate’ after the bushfire that destroyed that area of land?

Source 2: ‘What is Country?’ by Gemma Pol from Common Ground

First Nations peoples hold a deep, continuing connection to Country that includes complex concepts of identity and belonging, lore/law, and relationships. All things within Country – the sky, land, waterways, animals, and plants – are considered as relations within family bloodlines so that everyone has a special connection and responsibility to living things around them. This, ultimately, ensures sustainability, while providing creation stories, a belief system, lore to live by, and a social framework to ensure that everyone is connected and knows their role in the community. See this Common Ground article for further explanation of these concepts.

Teachers could expand on this with further exploration of ‘Country’ (see AIATSIS, Reconciliation Australia, and Evolve Communities) and some poems by First Nations writers about connection to Country, using The Welcome to Country Handbook* by Marcia Langton. See Reading Australia’s teaching resource for this title, and the Close Study section in particular, which refers to Tony Birch’s poetry collection Whisper Songs, Jeanine Leane’s poem ‘The Colour of Massacre’, and Cass Lynch’s short story ‘Split’ from the anthology Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now (ed. Ellen van Neerven).

* Reading Australia title

Possible discussion questions:

• In the context of First Nations peoples, how is the concept of ‘Country’ perceived, and how does it differ from the conventional understanding of ‘land’ or ‘home’ in other cultures?
• How does the capitalisation of ‘Country’ reflect the deep connection and reverence that First Nations peoples have towards their ancestral lands and territories? Discuss the significance of treating ‘Country’ as a living entity.
• Discuss the interconnectedness between people and Country, as highlighted by the concept of reciprocity. How does this reciprocal relationship influence the sustainable use of natural resources and the overall wellbeing of First Nations communities?
• The conceptualisation of Country transcends physical land. It is emotional and spiritual, comprising both relationships and knowledge. The concept of ‘Country’ is holistic. Mililma May’s poem at the bottom of the article reinforces this. How does this view of Country encourage care for the land and sustainability?
• How does this view of the land (as something you live within, in harmony with; as something to love and respect, care for, and be connected with) compare to the attitudes of settlers and pastoralists like Mackellar?

Source 3: ‘Anthems, “ranthems”, and otherwise loves: nationalism in Australian poetry’ by Kevin John Brophy for The Conversation

As we continue to mistreat the land through European farming practices, introduced species, pollution, mining, etc., climate change worsens and we become even more fragile. This begs the questions: what would we do if we destroyed the planet? Can we reverse the damage now if we start living in greater connection with the land, adopting First Nations ways of doing and knowing? These questions are explored throughout Dropbear.

These days we are much more aware of our environmental impact and more concerned with sustainability. This was not the case in 1988; there was little thought of caring for the land. In ‘New True Anthem’, originally published in Inside Black Australia, Wiradjuri artist and poet Kevin Gilbert criticises Australia for its hypocrisy, claiming to be patriotic and to love this country while simultaneously destroying it. In ‘Ranthem’, published in Millefiori, Bornean-Australian slam poet and writer Omar Musa defends the right to question and criticise Australia and seeks to call out racism and classism, arguing that you can love your country while still discussing its flaws and what it needs to do to improve. He pushes back against the patriotic response to criticism: ‘if you don’t like it, leave’.

Possible discussion questions:

• How does Gilbert’s poem, as discussed in Brophy’s article, serve as a critique of the societal and environmental issues faced by Indigenous communities? Discuss the themes of land theft, pollution, and racial oppression portrayed in his work. How does this challenge Mackellar’s apparent ‘love’ of the country?
• Consider the quote in Brophy’s article by poet Alec Hope. How does Hope’s use of imagery and language convey a sense of desolation and pessimism about the country’s future? Discuss the implications of his portrayal of Australia as a ‘vast parasite robber-state’.
• How does Musa’s work, as discussed in Brophy’s article, challenge traditional notions of patriotism and national identity?
• Discuss the significance of using poetry as a medium for social and political commentary. How do these poems serve as platforms for expressing dissent, highlighting social injustices, and provoking critical discussions about the country’s identity and its treatment of its people and environment? Explore the concept of an ‘anti-anthem’ as presented in the article. How do these poets use their works to challenge traditional notions of national pride and identity? In what ways are they producing counter-narratives?

ACEEN041   ACEEN043   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Understanding colonial history through First Nations eyes

Generally, the history of colonisation in Australia can be understood in terms of the four eras of protection, assimilation, self-determination, and reconciliation. Each of these eras is explained simply on the Working with Indigenous Australians website by Muswellbrook Shire Council, and in more detail on the BlackWords Historical Events Calendar by AustLit.

Divide the class into four groups, each looking at one of the four eras. They can use the above sources, and their own research, to come up with some dot points and key events for a colonisation timeline, which can be shared, discussed, and displayed on posters in the classroom.

Authorial intent and intertextuality

Dropbear is the culmination of Araluen’s many years of literary criticism, as well as her father Barry Corr’s research (Corr was one of the original students who went on the 1965 Freedom Ride). Between them, they have an extensive analysis of settler narratives and how they position First Nations peoples. They have also engaged thoroughly with historical texts, noticing the ‘poetics’ in these records and diaries.

Dropbear uses intertextuality, sometimes borrowing lines from – and other times speaking back to – key settler texts like:

• May Gibbs’ Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
• Ethel Pedley’s Dot and the Kangaroo*
• Poets such as B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson, D. H. Lawrence, Kenneth Slessor and Les Murray
• The journals of James Cook, Watkin Tench, Arthur Phillip, and Thomas Mitchell

* Reading Australia title

Acquaint students with samples of these texts to support their understanding of Araluen’s literary criticism and intertextuality. Are they familiar with these titles and images? Where have they seen/heard of them? Also read and discuss this 2022 Monash Lens article about the displacement of Aboriginal peoples in early Australian fairytales.

Araluen acknowledges her childhood connection to some of these stories, and the fact that her parents schooled her in settler texts. At first considering her parents victims of colonisation, she later considers whether this was their own act of resistance, so that she could attack colonialism and pursue self-determination from within the Western academy.

Dropbear is also Araluen’s exploration of her own identity and connection to Country, and a tribute to the community she is part of. At the end of the collection, she writes:

Many lives and stories have been erased, exploited or violated in the short but haunted history of Australian literature … [This book] was written from a place of remembrance and honour for those forgotten or misused. (p. 104)

Explore the following resources to understand Araluen’s authorial intent:

• UQP – Evelyn Araluen on her new book ‘Dropbear’
• Yarra Libraries Podcast – Evelyn Araluen on ‘Dropbear’ for The Kill Your Darlings First Book Club
• Sydney Review of Books – Staring Back: Jeanine Leane on Evelyn Araluen

Possible discussion questions:

• Describe your impressions of Araluen’s relationship to Country and her community.
• What do you believe Araluen is setting out to achieve in Dropbear?
• How well do you feel the children’s texts by Gibbs and Pedley represent Australia and Australian children today? Are these Australian classics, or are they outdated?

ACEEN041   ACEEN049   A_TSICP1   A_TSICP2   A_TSICP3   A_TSIC3

Personal response on reading the text

While reading the collection, students should complete a double-entry journal for at least four texts within the collection. A scaffold has been provided.

Outline of key elements of the text

Draw students’ attention to the following poems:

• ‘Index Australis’ (pp. 12–13)
• ‘Dropbear Poetics’ (pp. 21–22)
• ‘Guarded by Birds’ (pp. 34–35)
• ‘Mrs Kookaburra Addresses the Natives’ (pp. 50–51)
• ‘The Inevitable Pandemic Poem’ (pp. 64–65)
• ‘See You Tonight’ (p. 94)

If possible, provide the poems on A3 paper with different coloured highlighters so that students can identify different features (this could also be done using Microsoft Word).

Students will select one of the poems to read, annotate, and analyse in pairs. Ask them to make a key for their colours and annotate around the sides of the poem with notes explaining what they are identifying. Students may find the BBC Maestro or Matrix Education guides useful here. Depending on their prior knowledge and ability, it may be useful for you to model this process with a different poem first.

Text annotations should include the following:

• Questions and comments while reading the text
• Personal connections with students’ own experiences, or identification with characters, places, events, and issues
• Language and structural features, including imagery
• Contextual influences (biographical, historical, literary)
• Exploration of characters, themes, ideas

After working with their partners, students can form groups of four, read each other’s selected poems, and compare observations, ideas, and responses.

ACEEN041   ACEEN043   ACEEN044   ACEEN047   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Synthesising task

Dropbear is presented in three sections:

Students are to complete a short analysis of one text from each section of the collection (three texts total, half a page to one page per text). They may use the poems analysed and annotated in the previous activity, or select other texts that may be of interest to them. They should consider how their selected text reflects the theme or tone of the section it appears in.

Students should cover the following elements in their analysis of each text:

• Plot outline (if relevant)
• Language and structural features, including imagery or other poetic techniques (SPECS/SLIMS)
• Contextual influences (biographical, historical, literary), intertextuality
• Exploration of characters, themes, ideas
• How it contributes to the theme of this section (see above)

ACEEN041   ACEEN043   ACEEN044   ACEEN047   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

The writer’s craft

Structure

Ask students:

Why do you think the title ‘Dropbear’ has been used?

A dropbear is a mythical creature made up to scare tourists – a vicious version of the koala. Australians invented this creature perhaps to emphasise how dangerous this country is, or perhaps to impress other people with our toughness in being able to live here (there is also a satirical/humorous implication to the term). Jeanine Leane suggests that this far-fetched myth is no more incredible to First Nations peoples than the history of colonisation they have experienced, and that the dropbear is part of a long tradition of myth-making and stereotyping that First Nations people have been subject to (Leane, 2021). Taking this piece of cringey Australiana as the title may also foreshadow Araluen’s intention to rip apart the kitsch and cuddly tropes pervading Australian literature, as she goes on to subvert bush classics like Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

Also discuss the fact that this book collects poems, essays, and short stories that, while fictional, are heavily informed by historical sources and truths. What is the impact of this approach in terms of forcing the reader to face and reflect on colonialism?

ACEEN045   ACEEN047   ACEEN048

Setting

Invite students to consider Melody Paloma’s analysis of Dropbear in the Spring 2021 edition of Meanjin. Note particularly the third to last paragraph, which discusses Country and family (read from ‘Country is everywhere’ to ‘like a limb’).

Discuss:

• In what ways is ‘Country’ personified in the poems Paloma mentions (‘Concessions’, p. 40; ‘Home, After the Fire’, pp. 62–63; ‘Secret River’, p. 84, ‘Unreckoning’, p. 91)? Does this connect setting and character (family) as one and the same in a way that perhaps reflects a First Nations worldview?
• What aspects of the relationship to land and connection to Country come out of the poems cited above? Help students by referring back to the definition of ‘Country’ discussed in the Initial Response section (see Introductory Activities > Connections to Land, Country, Nationalism, and Patriotism > Source 2).

ACEEN041   ACEEN049   A_TSICP1   A_TSICP2   A_TSICP3   A_TSIC3

Voice

Araluen’s voice has been described by some as ‘biting’ and ‘satiric’ (reflecting the title, Dropbear), and by others as ‘tender’ and ‘mournful’. Discuss this with students – how do they hear and experience her voice? Is it both tender and biting at different times? Have students locate and discuss quotes to support their viewpoint.

For example:

Araluen’s voice is strong and confrontational from the start of the collection, as evidenced by the last line of the opening poem ‘GATHER’: ‘got something for you to swallow’ (p. 3). After presenting a series of challenges to colonial tropes and enduring colonialism, Araluen leaves the power resting with the ancestors. We see this in the final story of the collection, ‘THE LAST BUSH BALLAD’, when the ‘vengeful ancestors’ directly address the colonisers: ‘I told you I was prepared to swallow’ (p. 97). This is a reminder that we are all at the mercy of Country, as the ultimate power, and First Nations peoples carry that power through their close connection to Country. Araluen’s voice is perhaps characterised through this imagery of swallowing: first making the reader (and colonisers) ‘swallow’ a First Nations deconstruction of colonialism, then having the colonisers ‘swallowed up’ by Country.

Language and style

Below are various discussion points for select pieces from the collection.

‘The Ghost Gum Sequence’ (pp. 4–7)

After the opening poem ‘GATHER’ brings us in to listen and learn, ‘The Ghost Gum Sequence’ powerfully sets up the agenda of the collection: interrogating colonialism through the literature of Araluen’s childhood. The writer states in her notes that the collection ‘should be read with the understanding that the material and political reality of the colonial past which Indigenous peoples inherit is also a literary one. Our resistance, therefore, must also be literary’ (p. 99).

Araluen ends ‘The Ghost Gum Sequence’ with a counter-threat to the settlers (p. 7). The reference to ‘all times’ reflects the Aboriginal concept of time as being non-linear, so that past/present/future can exist at once. This is referred to variously as ‘deep time’ or ‘everywhen’ (or, as suggested by the title of an anthology edited by Jeanine Leane, Guwayu — For All Times*). Araluen is stating that the coloniser (represented by Watkin Tench) may be ever present, but so are First Nations peoples.

* Reading Australia title

‘PYRO’ (pp. 14–15)

The use of capital letters throughout ‘PYRO’ gives the impression of shouting or agitation. Araluen states that she wrote this poem ‘at a desk covered in ash’ (p. 15), referring to an intimate experience of the bushfires that ravaged the country in the summer of 2019–2020. The poem is a powerful ‘ranthem’ (part rant, part anthem) about climate change and the destruction of our natural world. Among image after image of bleak desolation, a reference to then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s failure to act highlights the government’s attitude to caring for Country (p. 15).

‘Learning Bundjalung on Tharawal’ (pp. 8–9)

This poem refers to the challenge of reviving language and culture after colonisation. In this context, the speaker is learning the language of their family heritage – Bundjalung (northern coastal NSW) – while living on Tharawal land in the outer regions of south-western Sydney. This emphasises the displacement and transience of communities due to colonisation, and the futility of trying to re-learn a language that comes from a particular place outside the context of that place: (p. 9, ll. 1–6). Araluen emphasises the use of Western literature to reclaim language and culture. However, this is challenging as it means unlearning the colonial culture (p. 8, ll. 19–22).

Other texts

‘The Trope Speaks’ (pp. 32–33) and ‘Playing in the Pastoral’ (pp. 19–20) are two strong examples of Araluen’s use of intertextuality. The latter also utilises the strikethrough technique to emphasise its critique of settler perspectives. Read them alongside the Notes on pp. 99–101, and Jeanine Leane’s 2021 review.

ACEEN041   ACEEN044   ACEEN047   ACEEN048   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Text and meaning

Themes in this collection include:

• Truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history
• The impact of colonisation on First Nations identities and cultures
• Decolonisation
• Connection to Country
• Climate change and sustainability
• Social justice
• Family and belonging

Consider select poems in pairs or groups according to how they treat these themes:

• Araluen considers ‘The Last Endeavour’ (pp. 23–27) and ‘THE LAST BUSH BALLAD’ (pp. 95–97) as ‘companion poem[s]’ (p. 100). Why is this? In what ways do these poems speak to each other or answer each other’s questions?
• Consider the imagery of driving, travelling, and connection to Country in ‘Malay’ (pp. 16–18), ‘Boab’ (p. 76), and ‘The Ghost Gum Sequence’ (pp. 4–7).
• Consider ‘Acknowledgement of Cuntery’ (pp. 30–31) and ‘The Trope Speaks’ (pp. 32–33) in terms of their ‘anti-colonial’ sentiment.
• Explore the depiction of family relationships in ‘See You Tonight’ (p. 94), ‘Bahloo’ (pp. 66–67), ‘To The Parents’ (pp. 57–60), ‘Moving Day’ (pp. 46–47), and ‘Concessions’ (p. 40). In particular, draw out the complexity of Araluen’s acknowledgement that she was brought up on the colonial texts she now critiques, and that where once she saw her parents as victims of colonialism, she now sees their intention in providing her the education needed to subvert the system.
• Explore the resilience, power, and strength of First Nations peoples in ‘Dropbear Poetics’ (pp. 21–22) and ‘Secret River’ (p. 84).

ACEEN041   ACEEN044   ACEEN047   ACEEN048   ACEEN049

Synthesising task

Students can select their two favourite poems/stories/essays from Dropbear and complete a mind map for each one. Using dot points and lists, they must identify the ways in which each text explores any of the themes listed above. Students may suggest another theme and consult with the teacher if they do not think their poem reflects any from the list above. Students may use online mind mapping tools such as MindMeister, Miro, Coggle, or Canva, but will need to print their work for presentation to peers.

Students will choose one of their mind maps to share in an inner/outer circle discussion. Split the class in half and form an inner and outer circle of pairs facing each other. The pairs take turns sharing their work. After some time has passed, instruct one circle to rotate (inner or outer, to the left or right, one place or two, etc.). Repeat this a few times so that students speak with a range of peers and hear about different poems and their themes.

After the discussion, ask students to identify one peer whose mind map they’d like a copy of. Either allow students to take photos, or facilitate photocopying to share this work around.

The mind maps will be useful prompts for the final assessment task in this unit.

ACEEN041   ACEEN043   ACEEN044   ACEEN047   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Ways of reading the text

Postcolonialism and postmodernism

Postmodern critical theory interrogates 20th and 21st century societies with particular concern for the ‘other’. To recognise the continuing intergenerational trauma of a colonised people is to understand that it is not solely a response to the historical actions of unenlightened governments, but also to fresh traumas wrought daily by contemporary society and politics.

In this context, it is worth mentioning that many First Nations peoples do not consider Australia to be a postcolonial country. See ‘Post-Colonial – NOT!’ by Anita Heiss, reproduced from Dhuuluu‐Yala as part of the teaching guide for the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature.

Decolonial theory

Araluen discusses decolonial theory and decolonisation in the context of the production of knowledge in universities. In recent years decolonial theory has ‘pried Indigenous studies from the grasp of anthropology’ (Araluen, 2017) and allowed First Nations peoples the opportunity to bring Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being into their work in real ways, both within academic institutions and outside of them.

Decolonial theory seeks to challenge colonial mindsets and, ultimately, overcome or undo colonial domination (Araluen, 2017). While acknowledging the literary form and poetry as sites for decolonisation and protest, Araluen asserts that we must not limit decolonial theory – and its important work – to academic contexts. She expresses this eloquently in the final paragraph of her 2017 Overland essay, ‘Resisting the institution’.

Post-apocalyptic, dystopian, science, speculative, and futurist literature

Some First Nations authors prefer to replace the term ‘post-colonial’ with ‘post-apocalyptic’, and argue that First Nations writing fits well within science fiction and speculative fiction genres because:

• It is written in a post-apocalyptic context
• First Nations spirituality aligns with many common sci-fi themes, such as time-travel, the supernatural, and interaction between humans, animals, and plants

Other First Nations authors dislike ‘science fiction’ and similar terms being assigned to ways of living and knowing that are non-fiction to First Nations people. Others still argue that science fiction itself promulgates colonialism and asserts that Western society is advanced and above others in an evolutionary hierarchy.

See Mykaela Saunders (2023, 2022) and Ambelin Kwaymullina’s (2014) writing on this topic. Lisa Fuller (2020) also has some excellent thoughts on the topic.

ACEEN041   ACEEN048   ACEEN049   A_TSIC3

Comparison with other texts

There are several excellent poetry/prose anthologies by First Nations writers that lend themselves to comparison with Dropbear:

• The Rot by Evelyn Araluen
• Fire Front: First Nations poetry and power today ed. Alison Whittaker, a Gomeroi poet and scholar (teachers’ notes available from UQP)
• Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now ed. Ellen van Neerven, a Mununjali Yugambeh writer (teachers’ notes available from UQP)
• Born Into This by Adam Thompson, a Tasmanian Aboriginal (pakana) writer (teachers’ notes available from UQP)
• Whisper Songs by Tony Birch, a self-named ‘Fitzroy Blak’ from an Aboriginal community in inner-city Melbourne (teachers’ notes available from UQP)
• Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki, a Noongar and Yawuru writer (teachers’ notes available from Magabala Books)
• Heat and Light* by Ellen van Neerven
  • This collection includes a novella set in a pastoral context revealing intergenerational trauma and a complex family history; a more futuristic novella dealing with colonisation; and a set of short stories exploring various themes of dispossession, racism, and family histories.

* Reading Australia title

Other notable First Nations poets for comparison include:

• Natalie Harkin, a Narungga woman and activist-poet (see Dirty Words, Archival-Poetics, and various works on Red Room Poetry)
• Kirli Saunders, a Gunai author, multidisciplinary artist, consultant, and more (see Kindred*, Eclipse, Returning, and various works on Red Room Poetry)
• Jeanine Leane, a Wiradjuri writer (see ‘The Gatherers’, which comments on pastoral life, settler-Aboriginal relations, and Aboriginal slaves/domestics; Guwayu — For All Times*, Gawimarra: Gathering, and various works on Red Room Poetry)
• Charmaine Papertalk-Green, a Wajarri, Badimaya, and Wilunyu woman of the Yamaji Nation (see False Claims of Colonial Thieves, ART, and various works on Red Room Poetry)

* Reading Australia title

Luther Cora is Bundjalung and Yugambeh dancer, artist, and educator. His photos of his daughter Tayvonne in floral headpieces and breastplates have won various portrait prizes. The photos explore Aboriginal history, colonial practices, colonial government policies, and sovereignty.

• Flora and Fauna, Giara: White Cockatoo (2021)
• ‘NOT MY QUEEN’ Sovereignty (2022)

Finally, collected poems by non-Indigenous writers Les Murray* and Judith Wright* draw out themes and make their own statements about settler-Aboriginal relations.

* Reading Australia title

ACEEN043   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Evaluation of the text

National/Australian identity

At the core of our national identity is the discomfort of colonial settlers adapting to Australia’s harsh environment, along with violent frontier wars and fractured settler-Aboriginal relations. This discomfort and unease continues to permeate Australian life. Reconciliation between First Nations peoples and other Australians is often fraught, stilted, and too uncomfortable for true examination in the national consciousness. Our relationship to the land remains elusive and half-formed. Literature reviewer Bill Holloway suggests that it is Australia’s uneasy relationship to the land that flows on to our relationship with our Indigenous peoples (Holloway, 2016).

Three useful sources to help unpack these ideas are suggested below for class discussion.

Source 1:  ‘The courage to feel uncomfortable: what Australians need to learn to achieve real reconciliation’ by Bindi Bennett for The Conversation

This article cites research into the psyche of Australians and points to ‘culture shock’ as a way of understanding why many non-Indigenous people avoid discussing First Nations issues and histories. In this case, culture shock results from the contradiction between Australia’s ‘tainted history’ and personally held ‘faith-based values or cultural world views’. According to Bennett:

Culture shock can lead to people feeling their identity is under attack when being educated. This can lead to defensiveness, feelings of guilt and culpability, animosity and fragility.

– Bindi Bennett, Bond University. (2022). ‘The courage to feel uncomfortable: what Australians need to learn to achieve real reconciliation’. Republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Bennett explains that the resulting avoidance and denial of First Nations perspectives then creates ‘microaggressions’ that silence and devalue First Nations peoples.

This article could provide a basis for a less emotive analysis of what is happening for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians during ‘truth-telling’ conversations, and why these are so difficult.

Source 2: Unsettled curated by Laura McBride and Dr Mariko Smith

The Australian Museum’s Unsettled exhibition and online resources outline First Nations’ perspectives on Captain Cook and the ‘settlement’ of Australia. It questions the notion that Australia was ‘settled’ and focuses on truth-telling and healing.

Source 3: Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story (2017) dir. Kate McIntyre Clere and Michael Mick McIntyre

A documentary examining the iconic kangaroo and its treatment in Australia. Supports discussion about colonial ideologies, Australian national identity, and settler relationships to the land, with a study guide available from ATOM.

Aboriginal identities

The performative nature of a minority identity – be it racial or gendered (see Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity) – is perhaps testament to the power structures at play in society. An Aboriginal person or a woman, for example, is required to perform a range of roles in different contexts in order to maintain safety, belonging, approval, and protection within the dominant culture. This concept is expressed eloquently in Ceridwen Dovey’s 2014 interview with Ellen van Neerven (see the final paragraph).

Discuss:

• What images of these different types of identities (gendered, national/Australian, Aboriginal) are presented in Dropbear? Select at least two significant quotes to illustrate your responses.
• In what ways does Dropbear either promote or challenge the stereotypical features of these identities? Select a specific poem/story to illustrate your point and provide key quotes.

ACEEN041   ACEEN047

Identifying and justifying language/stylistic techniques for specific narrative or dramatic purposes

Araluen uses satire, irony, wit, and dark humour to unsettle settler narratives and decolonise literature. Show students a short excerpt from the Whispering Gums review of Dropbear. The final three poems mentioned in this review are ‘Acknowledgement of Cuntery’ (pp. 30–31), ‘Appendix Australis’ (pp. 85–90), and ‘THE LAST BUSH BALLAD’  (pp. 95–97).

Students can work in pairs or groups of three to unpack this excerpt and the poems mentioned, identifying examples of humour, satire, irony, and wit. Encourage students to look back through their double-entry journal (see Initial Response > Personal Response on Reading the Text) and identify other texts where they noticed and commented on humour or satire.

Araluen also uses a variety of structural forms in this collection. For example:

• The opening poem ‘GATHER’ (pp. 2–3) is quite unconventional in structure, with no real stanzas or rhythm, but still using the forward slash (/) to separate certain lines and sections. Perhaps this is a visual representation of the meandering and scattered thoughts being gathered for the reader. It may also represent the First Nations peoples, languages, and cultures scattered and disrupted by colonisation.
• Poems and prose in all capitals that seem to scream at the reader and jump off the page with rage, such as ‘PYRO’ (pp. 14–15) and ‘With Hidden Noise’ (pp. 48–49).
• Prose poems such as ‘The Ghost Gum Sequence’ (pp. 4–7) and ‘To the Poets’ (pp. 36–38) reveal familiar tales and historical stories.
• Stream-of-consciousness style prose in ‘SUBURB PARATEXT’ (p. 10) and ‘Bastards from the Bar’ (p. 11) present rambling observations of places and the people within them.

Discuss and compare these examples and how the forms chosen may help the writer achieve a certain feeling or convey a particular message. Support students to identify and discuss other unconventional forms noticed within the collection.

ACEEN041   ACEEN047

Rich assessment task

Students are to write a comparative analysis of one poem/essay from Dropbear and one additional text (see Comparison with Other Texts), reading them through the lens of either postcolonialism, post-apocalyptic literature, decolonial theory, or identity (national/Australian or Aboriginal). Students should:

1. Compare the two poems using the SPECS/SLIMS
2. Consider which ‘way’ to ‘read’ the texts and explain their thinking, with quotes and examples.

Explain to students that they cannot speak for the viewpoint of Aboriginal identity unless they themselves are Aboriginal – however, they can identify whether they believe the text(s) make a comment on Aboriginal identity.

ACEEN041   ACEEN042   ACEEN047   ACEEN048   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Synthesise core ideas

Students should review their double-entry journals (see Initial Response > Personal Response on Reading the Text), which should now be filled with key quotes alongside questions, comments, personal connections, and other ways they identified with characters or situations. Ask students to use three different coloured highlighters to mark the following:

1. Two or three of the most impactful quotes or personal responses from their reading of Dropbear.
2. Places in their notes where they have revised their thinking or resolved questions. How has their thinking evolved throughout this unit of study?
3. Major themes or ideas that they personally connected with and commented on most.

If students feel comfortable, they could share some of their answers with the rest of the class before you collect the journals to check their work. Any discussion should be voluntary; do not call on students to participate if they do not wish to do so. In any case, however, you should discuss what students have learned from studying Dropbear and explore how their knowledge and understanding may have deepened or expanded over the course of this unit.

ACEEN041   ACEEN043   ACEEN047   ACEEN048   ACEEN049   ACEEN057   ACEEN059

Rich assessment task

NOTE: This task aligns with the English IA3 in Queensland. Support material, including a  model response, is available from the QCAA. Consider if further modelling is required in your class context.

Students are to compose an imaginative piece of writing that addresses a theme or idea from one of the texts in Dropbear. This can be in the form of either:

• An original short story (800–1,000 words), OR
• One to two original poems (20–40 lines each, equivalent to 150–300 words each)

Each piece should explore an aspect of the cultural assumptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs demonstrated in Araluen’s collection. They can review their mind maps (see Close Study > Synthesising Task) to find ideas for a topic, or review the options below.

Students who choose to write poetry should be encouraged to experiment with imagery, structural features, and poetic techniques similar to those in Dropbear. This will help them to reflect further on what they have learned about Araluen’s craft.

Although responding to work by an Aboriginal writer, students should use their original voice. They should NOT attempt to adopt/emulate the voices of – or to speak for – First Nations peoples. For more information on this topic, see Jasmin McGaughey’s 2019 blog post for the State Library of Queensland. McGaughey suggests that a great deal of research is required by non-Indigenous people before they can authentically create Indigenous characters in their writing.

Additionally, even though students will be using a literary text as a springboard to generate ideas, the focus of this assessment is on imaginative writing. Rather than direct analysis, they should focus on creatively expanding on an aspect of the text. This might look like:

• Challenging or reinforcing a value, attitude, or belief from the text
• Offering new insight into an aspect of the text
• Offering a different interpretation of a perspective or representation from the text, such as changing the point of view or presenting a different idea/argument on the issue

ACEEN051   ACEEN052   ACEEN055   ACEEN056