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A Question of Colour; my journey to belonging
The removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families remains a dark chapter in Australia’s history. Pattie Lees was just ten-years-old when she and her four siblings were separated from their mother on the grounds of neglect and placed into State care. Believing she was being shipped and exiled to Africa, Pattie was ultimately fated to spend the rest of her childhood on the island once dubbed ‘Australia’s Alcatraz’ – Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement, off the coast of Queensland.
A Question of Colour; my journey to belonging provides a first-hand account of Pattie’s experiences as a ‘fair-skinned Aboriginal’ during Australia’s assimilationist policy era and recounts her survival following a decade of sexual, physical and emotional abuse as a Ward of the State. A Question of Colour is a deeply moving and powerful testimony to the resilience of a young girl, her identity and her journey to belong.
A Question of Colour; my journey to belonging provides a first-hand account of Pattie’s experiences as a ‘fair-skinned Aboriginal’ during Australia’s assimilationist policy era and recounts her survival following a decade of sexual, physical and emotional abuse as a Ward of the State. A Question of Colour is a deeply moving and powerful testimony to the resilience of a young girl, her identity and her journey to belong.
346 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 10, 2020
An excellent memoir of a woman who grew up in North Queensland in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a frank straight up and down account of a difficult childhood including institutionalisation on Palm Island. The authors childhood identity is particularly problematic because she is the daughter of a white father and a mother who is part Torres Strait islander and part Filipino. Her fair skin causes her all sorts of confusion. This is a bravely and beautifully written account. It neither embellishes or downplays. It is a struggle but there is no ‘victim hood” or triumphalism. Nor does the memoirist indulge in stereotypes or simple narratives. There are good white people and bad, good black people and bad. And the writers acknowledge where there have been improvements in systems and attitudes as well as where there haven’t. What’s more there are also touches of humour and human warmth throughout the book. To sum up, this is damn good book.
January 30, 2021
‘My journey to belonging.’
Pattie Lees was ten years old when she and her four siblings were separated from their mother on the grounds of neglect and placed into the care of the state. This is an important first-hand account of Pattie’s experiences as a ‘fair-skinned’ Aboriginal, a member of the Stolen Generations, caught between conflicting worlds. In Townsville, Pattie was considered ‘too dark’ to be successfully fostered, while on Palm Island, other children rejected her because she was seen as white.
This is the autobiography of a strong, resilient woman who has survived neglect and abuse, and had the courage to revisit the past. In 1996, Ms Lees submitted a Freedom of Information application to the Queensland Department of Families and Community Services. She was not expecting to receive 300 pages of combined family files. Understandably, she was distressed by the contents. She was further distressed to find, amongst the bureaucratic papers, the transcripts of two letters her mother had written within four days of the children being removed from her care. The letters were transcribed, but the originals were never received by the children. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that must have been. Pattie’s mother neglected her and her siblings, but she clearly loved them.
I found this first-hand account deeply moving. Ms Lees acknowledges the good and the bad in her life. This autobiographical account is important, and I recommend reading it.
We cannot improve the future until we acknowledge the past.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Pattie Lees was ten years old when she and her four siblings were separated from their mother on the grounds of neglect and placed into the care of the state. This is an important first-hand account of Pattie’s experiences as a ‘fair-skinned’ Aboriginal, a member of the Stolen Generations, caught between conflicting worlds. In Townsville, Pattie was considered ‘too dark’ to be successfully fostered, while on Palm Island, other children rejected her because she was seen as white.
This is the autobiography of a strong, resilient woman who has survived neglect and abuse, and had the courage to revisit the past. In 1996, Ms Lees submitted a Freedom of Information application to the Queensland Department of Families and Community Services. She was not expecting to receive 300 pages of combined family files. Understandably, she was distressed by the contents. She was further distressed to find, amongst the bureaucratic papers, the transcripts of two letters her mother had written within four days of the children being removed from her care. The letters were transcribed, but the originals were never received by the children. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that must have been. Pattie’s mother neglected her and her siblings, but she clearly loved them.
I found this first-hand account deeply moving. Ms Lees acknowledges the good and the bad in her life. This autobiographical account is important, and I recommend reading it.
We cannot improve the future until we acknowledge the past.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 23, 2020
his is a deeply distressing memoir to read: it's the story of Pattie Lees' early childhood of terrible neglect and then her sexual, physical and emotional abuse when she was made a Ward of the State. At times it is really difficult to reconcile the smiling face on the front cover with the story within its pages.
Daughter of a white philandering father and an alcoholic mother who was part Torres Strait islander and part Filipino, with some of her siblings fathered by different men, including a brother she knew nothing about until well into adulthood, Pattie's story is one of poverty, hunger, and being responsible for her younger siblings when she was barely old enough to look after herself. When her biological father moved them out to the suburbs, perhaps in a misguided effort to limit the mother's 'party-girl' habits, Pattie and the children were sometimes left alone for days. Her older brother Terry remembers these absences sometimes lasting a week; Pattie remembers it as less than that. But she also remembers that when they ran out of baby formula for Elin, she resorted to feeding her sugared tea.
Eventually authorities intervened, and when the initial orders for the children's welfare weren't implemented, they intervened again. Elin was taken to hospital with malnutrition, and the others were taken into custody. The text acknowledges that in these circumstances in those days, it was routine for children of any colour to be placed in the local lockup because there was nowhere else for them to go. Their mother was allowed to visit. But still... the idea of children being in gaol is repugnant. As Pattie remembers it, the people in the surrounding cells frightened the children, and no wonder.
The chapter which reproduces the correspondence about where the children were to be placed is chilling. Pattie's skin colour was fair, while Elin's was very dark despite having a very fair Nordic father. There was no question of foster care being available, and authorities seem to be more concerned about matching the children's colour to the institution than in keeping the family together. In Townsville waiting placement, her sister Johanne was fostered out, which led to a complete loss of contact for six years, and in the end, Pattie and her brother Michael joined their elder brother Terry on Palm Island, where he had been sent as an incorrigible child, without anyone telling her where he had gone. It was a huge culture shock for her, exacerbated by the very dark children who rejected her because they thought she was white.
The memoir is remarkable for the way that Pattie acknowledges the good along with the bad, especially the teachers who saw her potential.
To rear the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/10/24/a...
Daughter of a white philandering father and an alcoholic mother who was part Torres Strait islander and part Filipino, with some of her siblings fathered by different men, including a brother she knew nothing about until well into adulthood, Pattie's story is one of poverty, hunger, and being responsible for her younger siblings when she was barely old enough to look after herself. When her biological father moved them out to the suburbs, perhaps in a misguided effort to limit the mother's 'party-girl' habits, Pattie and the children were sometimes left alone for days. Her older brother Terry remembers these absences sometimes lasting a week; Pattie remembers it as less than that. But she also remembers that when they ran out of baby formula for Elin, she resorted to feeding her sugared tea.
Eventually authorities intervened, and when the initial orders for the children's welfare weren't implemented, they intervened again. Elin was taken to hospital with malnutrition, and the others were taken into custody. The text acknowledges that in these circumstances in those days, it was routine for children of any colour to be placed in the local lockup because there was nowhere else for them to go. Their mother was allowed to visit. But still... the idea of children being in gaol is repugnant. As Pattie remembers it, the people in the surrounding cells frightened the children, and no wonder.
The chapter which reproduces the correspondence about where the children were to be placed is chilling. Pattie's skin colour was fair, while Elin's was very dark despite having a very fair Nordic father. There was no question of foster care being available, and authorities seem to be more concerned about matching the children's colour to the institution than in keeping the family together. In Townsville waiting placement, her sister Johanne was fostered out, which led to a complete loss of contact for six years, and in the end, Pattie and her brother Michael joined their elder brother Terry on Palm Island, where he had been sent as an incorrigible child, without anyone telling her where he had gone. It was a huge culture shock for her, exacerbated by the very dark children who rejected her because they thought she was white.
The memoir is remarkable for the way that Pattie acknowledges the good along with the bad, especially the teachers who saw her potential.
To rear the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/10/24/a...
September 28, 2020
I adored this book! It has inspired me to want to learn a lot more about indigenous Australian history and culture. I now have aspirations to one day go and teach primary school in an indigenous community. Thank you for sharing your beautiful and heartbreaking story.
October 11, 2020
A Question of Colour is an important autobiography, adding another perspective to the growing body of narratives about the Stolen Generations. Pattie Lees grew up in North Queensland and manages really well the tensions of her story - being neglected but also deeply loved by her mother; having a bad time and good relationships in the dormitory on Palm Island; the ongoing negative impacts of child removal; and the impacts of racism and colourism. This is a well researched book, full of not just Lees' recollections but those of her family and friends, and archives and academic research -- but it still feels like an engaging narrative and not a boring research book!
October 8, 2021
This is a book every Australian needs to read. It is a first hand account of growing up mixed race (Torres Strait Islander-Caucasian) being brought into institutional care as a result of childhood neglect and then experiencing the harsh life on the palm island settlement.
Lees’s autobiography highlights the complete lack of recognition for Indigenous Australians who were at that time considered “coloured”. An obsession with skin tone meant that Indigenous children were either raised to be white, if they were fair skinned, which meant a rejection of any ties to their family and cultural identity, or if they were dark skinned, essentially being second class citizen in Australia.
Pattie Lees, being an Indigenous person of fairer skin outlines in painful detail the impact of belonging to neither community fully.
The story also recounts her mother’s experience as a black woman of Murray island heritage and how domestic violence, and poverty unfortunately contributed to alcoholism and hopelessness.
It is telling that the most brutal moments recounted are not the physical and sexual abuse that the children experienced, which is recorded in a matter of fact way, but rather the cold and cruel finality of bureaucratic decisions. The impact of the separation of the siblings, and the lies that were told to the children to cover up the truth is devastating.
One of the most vividly disturbing images for me was where the narrator manages to find out where her sister lives to give her a doll, only to have the white foster mother, cruelly dismember the doll in front of her.
And yet, the narrators resilience, strength and refusal to lose hope shines through. Despite all these traumas, she does not forget the memory of her mother, or the hope that the family could one day be restored. I can’t recommend the book enough.
Lees’s autobiography highlights the complete lack of recognition for Indigenous Australians who were at that time considered “coloured”. An obsession with skin tone meant that Indigenous children were either raised to be white, if they were fair skinned, which meant a rejection of any ties to their family and cultural identity, or if they were dark skinned, essentially being second class citizen in Australia.
Pattie Lees, being an Indigenous person of fairer skin outlines in painful detail the impact of belonging to neither community fully.
The story also recounts her mother’s experience as a black woman of Murray island heritage and how domestic violence, and poverty unfortunately contributed to alcoholism and hopelessness.
It is telling that the most brutal moments recounted are not the physical and sexual abuse that the children experienced, which is recorded in a matter of fact way, but rather the cold and cruel finality of bureaucratic decisions. The impact of the separation of the siblings, and the lies that were told to the children to cover up the truth is devastating.
One of the most vividly disturbing images for me was where the narrator manages to find out where her sister lives to give her a doll, only to have the white foster mother, cruelly dismember the doll in front of her.
And yet, the narrators resilience, strength and refusal to lose hope shines through. Despite all these traumas, she does not forget the memory of her mother, or the hope that the family could one day be restored. I can’t recommend the book enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2021
A truly remarkable memoir that presents a very balanced account of removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children from their family. Lees shows remarkable restraint as she presents the information and documentation in a straightforward manner and leaves it up to the reader to react and form judgements. The shocking treatment of the children, cruel systems and devastating impacts across the whole family are presented within a very personal narrative. It does not degenerate into rage or bitterness, rather it is a story that acknowledges the negatives and looks for the positives. Lees is incredibly generous in her perspectives in a way that I can only admire. There are no caricatures or trite narratives, the story shows each person and event in all its complexity with all the shades of good, bad and varying degrees of explicability. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this book is how Lees chose to tell her story and what to include. She chose not to present a story about victims or rail against appalling systems and injustices, despite obvious opportunities. She also chose to make only minor reference to some of her remarkable work and achievements later in life and to focus this book on her family experiences. This is a powerful, authentic and accessible memoir and is highly recommended.
February 6, 2021
What a beautiful, humble lady Pattie Lees is. Despite experiencing so much suffering, racism and loss in her life Pattie has remained positive and grateful. This book really educated me in terms of what it means to be a Torres Strait Islander, I was totally ignorant. Thank you Pattie for sharing your life with us.
March 12, 2021
How to review this book.... other than to say it is a must read. I cried (a lot), I laughed. I related Pattie's experiences to friends' experiences who were taken from their families too and saw blaring similarities (tragedy, sadness, confusion, hate) and also saw Pattie's experiences for what they were - her own.
I will finish this when it's not midnight
I will finish this when it's not midnight
March 4, 2024
While I was interested in Patti’s story as it is so important to increase our knowledge of what has happened (and still happens) to our indigenous people in Australia the book was too dry for me. I am not convinced she is a good writer and I would have liked to know more about her working life later on. So 2 stars because of the writing
October 26, 2021
What an incredible story! At times I forgot that this was non-fiction as I was so caught up in some of the events from the author's past. It is quite inspiring and so brilliantly written.Thanks for sharing your life story!
January 19, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, having heard bits and bobs about the stolen generation this memoir really went into detail of the treatment of indigenous children.
March 22, 2022
A really great memoir - I have learnt so so much from this book, I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn about this time in Australia’s history.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews