Jackson's Track

by Daryl Tonkin, Carolyn Landon

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History, Australia, Audiobook, Historical

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it and another important book about relationships between First Nation and other Australians. I got a better sense of First Nation Australian social relationships and responsibilities - and particularly how very different it is to people from other cultures, and also how sensible and effective it is. There is a sense of a remarkable lack of judgement of individuals and instead a strong emphasis on social responsibility which was rigorously punished if not adhered to but the boundaries are so absolutely different to what I grew up with and understand. I especially liked the author talking about how people who did not have paid jobs were still important contributors to how family and community groups operated - these people contributing through hunting skills or creativity - so artists for example would create and their work would be treated as contributing to the community although no money was involved. Loved it. There is more to the story than this - thoroughly recommend to all Australians.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this autobiography - partly because I've been to these places and know, albeit superficially, the forests he lived in and loved. But more than that, his description of his logging work and his relationships with the Aboriginal families he worked with and married into, is disarmingly honest and highly evocative.

It really shed new light for me on the era (1930s-1960s country Victoria), on the early loggers and their respect for the forest, and on the Aboriginal people of the stolen generations and the way they lived both when undisturbed by the authorities and once the powers-that-be decided to intervene in their lives and in the forest.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!! Get this yarn into ya! Stories from non-indigenous man who lived in the indigenous community of Jacksons Track just outside of Drouin from the 40's to the 60's when there were still tall old growth forests to chop down - well Daryl still lives there...oh and then read Jacksons Track revisited which fleshes out Daryls story with some indigenous perspectives which as you can imagine are ENLIGHTENING.

[Janice Hull · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly amazing story told by a gentle person. It’s the true story of life for Aboriginal people who lived at Jackson’s track in the 40s thru to late 70s. A community that was able to avoid government intervention for many years. Told by Daryl Tonkin who lived and worked at Jackson’s track for most of his life.

[Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only there had been more people like Daryl Tonkin! A great yarn, autobiography and history of a part of Gippsland not far from where I live and work.

[Smitchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It surprised me how easy Jackson's Track was to read - It really reminded me of "A Fortunate Life" by AB Facey with Darryl Tonkin's easy going attitude and way of telling a yarn.

I have grown up in West Gippsland and still live there, I am familiar with every town mentioned in this book and some of the family names. This book is unfortunately a great synopsis of how Indigenous Australians have been treated by people and governments over the decades. Darryl really gives a different attitude and gives a very different perspective to the lives and living arrangements of his wife's family.

Darryl really was a unique character - his straighforward outlook on life, attitude to work, family, and love of the bush shines through this book - his regrets for his family and friends and what we have done to the land are also clear from his perspective looking back at 80 years of life.

This is a book that we always have on the shelves but I am going to start recommending a heck of a lot more!

[Marg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book written from the heart. Deals with interracial marriages and the social life in Gippsland, Victoria during the post war period late 1940's to 1960's.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It has prompted me to go ask the elders in my family lots of questions about their work in the old timber mills.

[Camille Siddartha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyway...Goodread

[RM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story of life in Australia among the Black Fellas and White Fellas in the 20th Century. Good read.

[Lily Mae Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh gosh I loved this book. I think this should be part of reading lists in Australian schools.
Read read read.

[Marian Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most important books I have read! Living in Victoria, Australia this story chronicles one white man’s story as told by co-author Carolyn Landon. Daryl Tonkin married Aboriginal woman Euphie and lived in the Gippsland forests with Aboriginal groups during the 20th century. There are very few first person accounts of the harmonious, collaborative lifestyles and culture of Aboriginal groups in the cool temperate climates of Australia. It illuminates the bigoted attitudes of nearby white townspeople and authorities, leading to devastating results for the Aborigines living on Jackson’s Track. I am looking forward to finding and reading Jackson’s Track revisited.

[Ned Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was this book difficult to put down? Yes, it was.
The story of the Tonkin brothers who established a timber business just outside Drouin (Australia) near the end of the great depression. They worked hard, lived rough, put trust in their indigenous employees and were rewarded accordingly.
All went well for many years and then one brother setup house with an indigenous woman. The aborigines welcomed him in a big way, but his family reacted unfavourably. More years passed and racial issues in the bigger community appeared in a big way, then do-gooders, troublemakers and greed stepped in and history from around the world repeated itself.
You can read the book to get the rest.

[Julie Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down. I grew up near Jacksons Track and my father worked in the Stoll Brothers mill in Rokeby that Rubin Hood went to work in after he left The Tonkin brothers mill. This is essential reading for anyone living in Gippsland or Gunai-Kurnai land. The author has created a beautiful portrait of Daryl that (in some ways) reminds me of my own father. This is a heartbreaking chapter of Australian history.

[RT · Rating 5 out of 5]

a wonderfully bittersweet read. I enjoyed being in the company of Mr Tonkin's words and he's a wonderful story teller. I read this about 5 months ago but I still find myself thinking about this story from time to time. It had some wonderful insight into the Aboriginal Australian experience in that particular moment of time.

[David Gagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simply told memoir/account of one man's love of the bush & for the First Nation's people who lived along the Track. Daryl's marriage to Euphie & love for the families living here during the 40s & 50s is at the heart of this book, and the anger at how they were treated when they were forced to move away is captured so honestly.

[Carole-Ann Kerford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be part of the Australian school curriculum. Beautifully told, it clearly paints the picture of a time gone by but still so close in our history. We have so far to go yet with our reconciliation efforts, I wish there were more men like Darryl in the world.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting memoir of a place and time I would probably never have had any information about had I not found this book on a sale table in Little River, New Zealand this fall.

[Rob Corkran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of an area close to home in Warragul, but like all First Australian origin stories, the families of the area treatment in the end was horrendous.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fascinating to dip back in time and being familiar with the region made it a great read

[Jessica Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it 2 stars not because I didn' think the story was incredible but just that I couldn't get into some of the writing and flicked through a lot of it.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting perspective from an historical view.

[Adakhc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

[Deborah Rawlinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant historical account, very moving.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told through the eyes (and voice) of a true Aussie Bushman, with dry humour, wit and Aussie terminology of the times - 1930s. Daryl did not view the Aboriginals as black, but as friends and good workers. They were all happy at Jackson's Track, - until the "good times" came and prosperous land owners and councils wanted "the blacks" off the land and forced them into unfamiliar housing and experiences.
A reflection on how, in times past, white people considered that they knew what was best for Aboriginals with horrible consequences. An important read.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because my Australian friend suggested it to prepare for a trip to Oz. It really did give me a good feeling of Australian history and Aboriginal history. Many references to places, people, and interesting tales. Excellent!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book. An important but challenging part of Australia's history captured and told through the relationship between a white Australian make and his Aboriginal wife. Set in Gippsland Victoria I appreciated the insight into the history of my state.

[Jen Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book

[Prue McAllister]

Second time read and even better. Love this book as it gives a rare insight into the aboriginal community in Victoria. Daryl Tonkin is a remarkable man.

[Ivy Hodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written from the perspective of a white man who lived in the bush with and being accepted into the Aboriginal community. Daryl fell in love with and Aboriginal woman and together, they raised a family. The horrendous things that were done to this peaceable community, separating families, removing people from their land, all in the name of God or under the guise of what’s best for the children. I wish that Euphie could also have shared her experience in this book. Worth reading.