Past Programs
Indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander - 2008
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Patricia Wrightson
18/12/2008
Patricia Wrightson began writing children's fiction in the 1950s, after realising that very little literature for young people featured Australian characters and settings.
One of the pioneers of the flowering of Australian children's writing, Patricia Wrightson has won numerous book awards, including the Hans Christian Anderson medal for writing in 1986. Her abiding interest in Aboriginal culture and spirituality has prompted a recurrent theme in her books, as has her love for the Australian environment.
In this program, Patricia Wrightson talks about her passion for writing, and her desire to create a distinct, Australian children's folklore, using the landscape, people and myths that she observed around her.
Paddy Roe
20/11/2008
Nyigina elder Paddy Roe was a respected elder, teacher and storyteller in the West Kimberley.
Some years ago, inspired by his book Reading the Country (written with Stephen Muecke and artist Krim Benterrak) producer Bill Bunbury went with Paddy Roe to 'read the country' of Roebuck Plains near Broome, Paddy's birthplace.
Paddy Roe died in July 2001. This interview is being rebroadcast as a tribute to Paddy Roe, with the kind permission of his family.
Lester Bostock
11/09/2008
Lester Bostock is considered a founding father of the emergence of Indigenous media in Australia. He helped set up Radio Redfern, was involved in the creation of the first Indigenous theatre group, and was also the first Aboriginal presenter on SBS Radio.
Lester Bostock was born in 1934, and spent his childhood on the Box Ridge reserve in northern NSW. He went to school on the reserve, where his teacher was the untrained wife of the reserve manager. He left school at thirteen, and returned to education as an adult. Lester attended Tranby Aboriginal College in Sydney, and ended up teaching there himself.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
21/08/2008
In the fourth program in a series exploring memories of childhood, the poet and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal recalls her early life growing up on her tribal country, Minjerribah, or Stradbroke Island, off the coast of southern Queensland.
She was born in 1920 and was given the name Kathleen. As an adult Kath Walker took on her Indigenous name, Minjerribah is the traditional country of the Noonuccal people.
Oodgeroo was one of the first Indigenous Australian writers to be published, and her work has received many accolades and awards, including an MBE which she famously returned to the government in 1988, in protest against the Bicentennial celebrations.
