Maralinga: The Anangu Story

by Yalata and Oak Valley Communities, Christobel Mattingley

The A n angu Story is our story. We have told it for our children, our grandchildren and their children. We have told it for you.


In words and pictures Yalata and Oak Valley community members, with author Christobel Mattingley, describe what happened in the Maralinga Tjarutja lands of South Australia before the bombs and after.

Genres: Indigenous, History, Picture Books

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small peek into some of the horrors the Anangu people were put through.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sets out in considerable detail what was lost by the Anangu people - and, as a consequence, what we have all lost - as a result, first, of the Europeans' overuse of water and timber at the Ooldea Soak (which caused devastation of the local environment) and, secondly, the testing of nuclear weapons by the British at Maralinga.

It is often astonishing to me how much survives, despite the atrocities performed. Maralinga contains anecdotes and memories from members of the communities at Yalata and Oak Valley, such as stories about Wanampi (water snake) and how people found water and food, as well as traditional stories, such as the story of Aru and Makuru. Some community members have also provided accounts of being separated from their families.

The book then moves on to describe how the nuclear tests were managed - or, in many respects, mismanaged, particularly in relation to the Anangu community. The mission was closed suddenly and people were dispersed. Many were moved to Yalata, close to the coast. And the weapons were tested when there were still Anangu people living on their traditional lands - within the "Prohibited Zone", an area enormously affected by the tests. Of course, the effect of the tests extended beyond the Prohibited Zone, and many people became sick. Later, many more became sick when employed to assist with the clean-up.

Despite all of that, the book ends with hope. The Oak Valley community was established on traditional lands in 1985. Oak Valley has grown and prospered. The people there retain their strong links with those who have remained at Yalata. The final substantive page includes quotes from several children stating what they hope to be doing in ten years' time.

This is a book which all Australians should read. What happened at Maralinga is among the worst wrongs the government and White Australia committed against the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and it is a story too easily overlooked. It also serves as a reminder of the other wrongs committed. And the hope voiced at the end of the book is hope for us all.

[Clara Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought a copy at the giftshop at the Head of Bight on my journey travelling across the Nullarbor Plains. Its not too far from Yalata or the Ooldea Soak, which are locations mentioned in the book. The book gives a glimpse into the history of the surrounding lands which rightfully belong to the Anangu community, describing their original way of life and how it changed drastically upon the invasion of the "whitefellas". Fascinating read for me as I do not know much about the area. My favorite part of the book was seeing the excerpts from the Anangu people in their original words, scattered all across the book.

[Gaye Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The duplicity of the whitefella made me really angry for these poor people.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

More an illustrated book than a picture book - in a lovely, highly colorful and visual format - this is a book packed with facts, recounts, photographs and historical accounts. It takes careful reading and digesting, and is quite harrowing. I was shocked as I read about the destruction of Anangu traditional lives and lifestyle. Even worse, what very little I knew about the atomic testing in and around Maralinga - that it was in a deserted area where no one lived - was untrue. To hear that people were living in the testing grounds, and were immediately affected by the radiation, was terrible. Even when they were found and evacuated, the accounts were harrowing. A family who walked out of the desert, sustaining themselves on the long distances by knowing where every rockpool and waterhole was, were directed by soldiers to walk along a road and stay on that road. There were no waterholes along that road, and most of the family perished. As part of our self-education and insights into our own privilege, every non Indigenous Australian should be reading books like this. Truth is important.

This powerful book is also featured on the website of the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature https://www.ncacl.org.au/atsi-resource/

https://www.ncacl.org.au/atsi_resourc...