Re-imagining Australia
VOICES OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS OF FILIPINO DESCENT
Authors
Deborah Ruiz Wall OAM, PhD WSU, BA Journalism UP, BA Hons Sociology UOW, Grad Dip Education STC, Grad Dip Ministry SCD, Grad Cert Applied Aboriginal Studies Tranby Aboriginal College, is a Filipino Australian born in Manila. She worked as a journalist with the Philip- pine Broadcasting Service in 1970 and as Press Secretary for the Opposition Leader, Matthias Toliman and later for his successor, Sir Tei Abal in Papua New Guinea House of Assembly in 1973. She taught Communication and Social Sciences with the NSW Technical and Further Education from 1975-2004. In 2004, she was award- ed an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for contribution to the community in the areas of social justice, multiculturalism and reconciliation. Her completed oral history projects included Redfern Aboriginal stories and story sharing between Aboriginal and Filipino women in both inner city Sydney and Western Sydney. She began compiling the stories of Indigenous people of Filipino descent in Broome in 2008 and in Torres Strait in 2015
Christine Choo, historian, social research- er and social worker, has a special interest in Western Australian history, particularly the contributions of Indigenous people, women, migrants, missions and minority groups, on which she has published. Chris- tine’s doctoral thesis in History entitled, Aboriginal Women on Catholic Missions in the Kimberley, Western Australia, 1900 – 1950 was published as Mission Girls (2001). Christine is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Western Australia.
Narrators
Broome: Kevin Puertollano, mitch torres, James Jahan de Lestang, Miguel Castillon, Sally bin Demin, Elsta Foy, Mary Manolis (deceased), Evelyn Masuda (deceased), Ellen Puertollano, Anthony Ozies (deceased), and Magdalene Ybasco.
Torres Strait: Peter Sabatino, Lilian Elarde Majid, Mary Rose-Hampson, Josie Cowley, Camilla Sabatino, Mary Bin Juda, Patrick Mau, Regina Turner, Mario Sabatino, and Josephine David-Petero.
Comments about the book
Here, at long last, the fascinating history of Filipino Australia comes to life! De- scendants of Manilamen in Broome and Torres Strait tell us what it is like to be both Aboriginal and Filipino, one culture enriching the other to create a uniqueness ‘that no one else has’, as mitch torres puts it. In terms of family, food, and many other facets of culture, these descendants have shown the admirable determination ‘to keep the Filipino line going’, in Kevin Puertollano’s words. The Filipino Aborig- inal community attests to the intertwined histories of the Philippines and Austra- lia—which this book accounts for mar- vellously. —Filomeno Aguilar, Professor and former Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Brought to northern Australian ports from various islands in the Philippines during the early days of the pearl shelling industry, many of the ‘Manilamen’ married local women and most of their Broome and Torres Strait descendants today identify as Indigenous Australians, while acknowledging their Filipino ancestry and celebrating both their Indigenous and Filipino cultural inheritance. The rich narratives and well-chosen photographs fill a significant gap, given that very few contemporary Australians or Filipinos are aware of the length and strength and depth of our intertwined history. This book is a timely gift to the narrators’ families and their communities and an important resource for historians of northern and Indigenous Australia, Australia-Philippines relations, Australian-Asian labour and Australian multiculturalism. —Dr Anna Shnukal, Honorary Associate, Queensland Museum, Australia
Relevant disciplines and fields: Cultural studies, Indigenous Studies, Asian Studies, Heritage, Human Rights
PO Box 171 Newtown NSW 2042 AUSTRALIA,
e-mail wall.deborah@gmail.com
Also available at:
Keeaira Press
PO Box 139, Southport, Qld 4215 info@kpress.com.au
From September 2016. RRP: $30.00 + P&H
