Indigenous Australia

13 February 2008 is a day many Australians have been awaiting for a long, long time: our new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an official apology to the indigenous peoples of Australia. This is not an act of independence, but I think it qualifies for this project as a national day, one which is a major step in the process of reconciliation.

The text of Kevin Rudd's speech is widely available and I hope you have seen or read it.

In 1990, University of Queensland Press published The Honey-Men's Love Song and other Aboriginal Song Poems, a collection of song-poems presented both in their original dialects, and in translation. The poem I'm including here is a Dyirbal song - the language is from North Queensland, in the Cairns rainforest region. The song was performed by Jimmy Murray in 1967, and translated by R M W Dixon. The volume gives the following note as context:

"In the very early days of contact, Aborigines saw a white girl wearing a red dress with white spots. They had never seen anything quite like this and made up a song about it, with dancers imitating the movements of the girl" (6).

The Red Gown

The red gown we see is like a butterfly
A red gown that catches the eye
THe red gown we see is like a butterfly

Red gown dancing in joy
A red gown that catches the eye
The red gown we see is like a butterfly

Red gown dancing in joy
A red gown that catches the eye
The red gown we see is like a butterfly
Red gown dancing in joy



-performed Jimmy Murray, 1967 (Girramay dialect)
translated from the Girramay by R M W Dixon
published in The Honey-Men's Love Song and other Aboriginal Song Poems, UQP