Settlement: A History of Australian Indigenous Housing

by Peter Read (Editor), Patrick Troy (Foreword)

Both comprehensive and intriguing, this history traces the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing—from the multiplicity of shelters used in pre-invasion times to the extraordinary cottages built by Victorian missionaries, through to the dreaded children's dormitory and its horrors of disease and overcrowding.

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Peter Read is an ARC Professorial Fellow at the Department of History, University of Sydney, and Adjunct Professor, Department of History, ANU. Currently he is researching a history of Aboriginal Sydney, and is slowly building the website A History of Aboriginal Sydney.

Peter Read coined the phrase 'the stolen generation', first used by him as a title for a magazine article. In 1981 he helped create Link-up, an organisation to bring Aborigines who had been abducted back to their parents. It went on to become a major force leading to the Stolen Generation enquiry. On the way Peter wrote many influential publications, including The Lost Children (1988), Charles Perkins: A Biography and Lost Places (1997).

Reviews

[Bbearbeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be very insightful to Indigenous housing throughout Australia (and the years). It touches on perspectives from Indigenous ideas and responses to colonial housing imposition, the role of architects, and the role of governments/non-Indigenous Australia. The range of co-authors is so diverse, covering so many different eras, topics, and backgrounds that makes this collection all the more comprehensive.