Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence - Softcover

Pilkington, Doris; Garimara, Nugi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0702227099 ISBN 13: 9780702227097

Publisher: Univ of Queensland Pr, 1996

Synopsis

The remarkable true story of three young girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home.

Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up by whites and taken to settlements to be assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-winning author Doris Pilkington traces the captivating story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from her community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. At the settlement, Milly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their aboriginal heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in solitary confinement, the three girls scared and homesick planned and executed a daring escape from the grim camp, with its harsh life of padlocks, barred windows, and hard cold beds.



The girls headed for the nearby rabbit-proof fence that stretched over 1,000 miles through the desert toward their home. Their journey lasted over a month, and the survived on everything from emus to feral cats, while narrowly avoiding the police, professional trackers, and hostile white settlers. Their story is a truly moving tale of defiance and resilience.



About the



Doris Pilkington is also the author of A Stockman's Daughter. Rabbit-Proof Fence, her second book, is now a major motion picture from Miramax Films, directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Kenneth Branagh.

About this title

About the Author

Doris Pilkington’s traditional name is Nugi Garimara. She was born in 1937 on Balfour Downs Station in the homeland of her Mardu ancestors. As a toddler she was removed by authorities from her home at the station and committed to Moore River Native Settlement, from which she escaped. She is the author of Home to Mother and Under the Wintamarra Tree.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of Queensland Pr
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0702227099
• ISBN 13: 9780702227097
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136