Kevin John Gilbert

INDEX

- Biographical notes;

- Committed Poetry;

- Prose as an illustrative background for poetry;

-“What does, factually, go with black skin?”;

- We cannot celebrate the invasion and theft of our Land!;

- Art for art’s sake?;

- A ppendix: Lineal Legends; Wahlo: Tribal Law; Totality: Massacre Mountain; Corroboree Spirits; Untitled;

- Thanks and dedication. Kevin John Gilbert

Australian Aboriginal flag Kevin J. Gilb ert: “What will we do with the ‘natives’?” -The Aboriginal point of view-

Biographical notes: Kevin John Gilbert was born in 1933 in the Wiradjuri Aboriginal area, on the New South Wales Australian coast. He was orphaned at the age of seven and, as an adult, spent many years in prison for the unintentional killing of his wife. Whilst in prison, he realised that conditions for prisoners, although bad, were on the whole better than the conditions in which his own people lived. As a consequence, he began to educate himself using dictionaries and encyclopaedias so as to be able to express his ideas artistically. Kevin Gilbert succeeded in realising his projects and, as a matter of fact, he has been widely recognised as a pioneering Aboriginal artist and has received some important awards. He died in early 1993 aged fifty-nine after having stimulated the never-ending struggle for Aboriginal Rights.

Committed poetry: The starting point for this research is represented by two representative poems taken from the collection called Black from the Edge 1, published in 1994. The first one is the most emblematic:

What will we do with the “natives”? Tuck them Blacks around the corner out of sight if sight you can

out in the light they grieve our conscience calling out for Rights of man

we here are far too busy earning tourist money

1 Gilbert, Kevin. Black from the Edge. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1994. quids

time is money souvenirs and tourists take our time not kids.

Which I have translated as follows:

Cosa faremo dei “nativi”? Nascondete i Neri dietro l’angolo, fuori dalla vostra vista, se di vista siete dotati

Alla luce del sole affliggono la nostra coscienza chiedendo Diritti Umani

Qui, noi siamo fin troppo impegnati a guadagnare i soldi dei turisti, sterline

Il tempo è denaro, regalini, e i turisti ci rubano il tempo senza pensare ai nostri figli.

This poem clearly presents the main themes shaping Gilbert’s literary production, that is to say, racism, human rights, economic issues and exploitation of the land for touristic purposes. Despite being an aborigine, Kevin Gilbert approaches all of these subjects from the perspective of the Australian white society as well. This is evident when we start analysing the above-mentioned poem in detail; in fact, the author uses a viewpoint that makes the reader imagine that Gilbert is someone outside both social environments. He indeed refers to the blacks by using the personal pronoun them (“Tuck them Blacks / around the corner…”) and to the whites by using the pronoun you (“[…]out of sight / if sight you can…”). Nonetheless, he also makes use of the possessive adjective our when he refers to white people (“[…]they grieve our conscience…”), but also when referring to the blacks (“[…]and tourists take our time / not kids.”). This use of our clearly shows Gilbert’s emotional and personal involvement with the problems he is tackling. He is actually describing the world in which he lives and acts to improve the Aboriginal living conditions. The second poem I have chosen as one of the most representative of the aborigine’s feelings towards white people and of their social situation is the following:

Notice to territory tourists To you who walk amidst and then pass by intrigued by these art shops and man’s estate thank god or he to whom your country prays that being born at Alice as a Black was not your fate

They stole my country fouled my paradise they take you by the hand to ‘see the sights’ look long think deep on history understand you witness here Australia’s inhumanity to man.

My own translation of this poem is: Avviso ai turisti A voi che camminate tra di noi e passate al nostro fianco, affascinati da questi negozi d’arte e da queste terre, ringraziate Dio, o colui al quale il vostro paese prega, perchè essere un Nero nato ad Alice Springs non fu il vostro destino

Rubarono la mia nazione, rovinarono il mio paradiso ed ora vi accompagnano per mano ad ammirare il panorama. Guardate lontano, pensate alla storia e rendetevi conto che qui siete testimoni della disumanità dell’Australia nei confronti dell’uomo. In this poem, Gilbert’s direct way of addressing to foreign tourists (“To you who walk amidst / and then pass by…”) seems to bring the “Aboriginal Matter” to international importance. Moreover, Gilbert includes a final exhortation to the same foreigners to think about the History of Australia and its inhabitants (“[…]look long think deep / on history understand / you witness here / Australia’s inhumanity / to man.”), comprehending a sort of anthropomorphic image of Australia through the substantive “inhumanity”; which is the same inhumanity shown by the whites throughout the centuries towards the aborigines.

Prose as an illustrative background for poetry : In order to have a deeper understanding of the issues raised by the author, we have also to consider Gilbert’s prose works. In particular, his last book entitled Because a white man’ll never do it 2, first published in 1973, throws light upon the whole range of topics he has been dealing with throughout his life and literary production. It can undoubtedly be stated that his prose works give an explicatory background to his poetry, and we can easily understand it by reading the dedication contained in this work: “This book is dedicated to the Aboriginal patriots of Australia who have refused to sell out, have refused to pay that ultimate ‘price of survival’ demanded by the white boss…and to the mass of blacks, ‘poor buggars all’, who are still waiting…” 3. In the Author’s Note following the dedication, Gilbert also writes: “[…]it seems to me that there has long been too damn much research and not enough action[…]Black writers don’t seem to get very much support from either government or big companies.” 4 In the first chapter, Race Memories, the author suggests a possible solution to the “Aboriginal Matter” by underlining the need to give them –the aborigines- back their land rights and let them try and rectify what the white man has done, because a white man will never do it. This is the issue that underlies the whole development of the book even though it is only considered by the author as the starting point of a long-dreamed social and political national reform. Despite these preliminary remarks about Kevin Gilbert’s prose which could give the impression of a stereotyped kind of writing concerning racism, we realize, as we go through the text, that this feeling is only partially true. As a matter of fact, Gilbert’s perspective on the issues he raises is meant to be as objective as possible by offering an impartial view on the two “worlds”: the white and the black one. A significant example on this matter can be found in the thirteenth chapter, Love’s Labor’s Lost – the reality of the

2 Gilbert, Kevin. Because a White Man’ll Never Do It. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1973. 3 Ibidem, VII. 4 Ibid., 162. reserves, in which the author doesn’t hesitate to blame his own people for some of their attitudes and social convictions. In one of the most crucial passages, we read: […]if a quarter-caste woman spends all her income on taxis and grog while her kids starve and get sick, then I believe that it is a matter of private selfishness and corruption rather than the fault of any larger racial issue[…]It is easier, I think, for a white man to write about the black situation for he either takes a ‘they’re bums’ attitude or, alternatively, a mea culpa line. 5

Nonetheless, immediately afterwards he makes the point clearer: “[…]let nothing that I say here about black culpability be used by any white man to excuse his grasping, mean- minded inhumanity.”6 With regard to the blacks’ social attitude, Gilbert states that they are psychologically far from being aware of the need for community self-discipline and organization. In addition, it is much easier and less painful for them to project their energy out, that is to say, into hatred for the white man. Furthermore, because discrimination by white people against blacks is so universal in the whole of Australia, it has also become a tool which blacks use to dodge responsibility. Frequently, the cry of ‘discrimination’ is just a defence against one’s psychological and social growth. One of the most meaningful examples given by the author is that of an Aboriginal man who suffers permanent crippling as a result of injuries received when he was blind drunk; he generally blames the cops or the white man for his condition, without accepting that it was his own irresponsible stupidity that has ruined his body. Moreover, he asserts that it is the white man’s fault if the wine has been brought into the country! Another aspect that marks the Aboriginal social attitude out is ‘fear’. The point is that the Aboriginal microcosm - the reserve- is usually a place where only legendary negative remnants of tribal lore have survived. For instance, there are a lot of stories telling about dreaded beings who inhabits a certain swamp, spirits of the night, giant killer dogs, and so on. Then, there are the memories of how white people massacred aborigines, raped girls and tortured his population. All these things contribute to the creation of a gloomy atmosphere which is part of the cement that binds Aboriginal communities together. Having said this, it is easily comprehensible that the fear is strong and the tales haunt these people as they have always haunted backward country people. Gilbert concludes this theme asking the following question to the reader: Does it explain, in part, why these people need the security of their own, why they can’t leave a reserve to live elsewhere, except in company? Why the reserve, however hellish it is, is still a familiar comfort? Anyone who remembers being scared of the dark as a kid will understand alright.” 7

5 Ibid., 149. 6 Ibid., 150. 7 Ibid., 156. Together with fear, social unproductiveness is also to be considered an element which has contributed to the Aboriginal isolation. In fact, even if there are jobs, many aborigines won’t work because, to quote Gilbert himself: “[…]why work when your cousin who is on social services gets very little less than you can earn, for doing nothing?” 8. Practically, it is only when there is work for everybody, as a community, that blacks will not tolerate lazybones. However, there might be the possibility for some Aboriginal families to find seasonal employment. Nonetheless, as the author states, gambling would soon have them broke again, because they would wonder why they should save the money earned. In fact, they know that, if they were to bring any money back to the reserve, it would soon be wasted in handouts to relatives or to supplement the dole they would be on the rest of the year. Besides, as Gilbert eventually remarks, “[…]what would they put a few hundred dollars into? They have no land, no identity, no pride of race and consequently nothing to build for, save for, work for. So why not splurge it and have some fun while you can?” 9. Accordingly, the only viable solution suggested by the author is a regeneration of the black population through self-determination, however hesitant the first steps, because the only thing that years of white administration have proved is that it doesn’t and it can’t work. This kind of solution is feasible only because, to cite again Gilbert’s words: “Out of Australia’s sad and inhumane past a people are slowly limping home to a state of justice. The cripple, the alcoholic[…]the victims are slowly shedding the oppressive cocoons of ‘protection’, ‘assistance’, ‘welfare’ and ‘assimilation’.”10

“What does, factually, go with black skin?” An act of faith, the title of the sixth chapter of Because a white man’ll never do it, is the most enlightening one as it gives the reader an accurate account of how racism pervades the whole Australian and global white society. First of all, Gilbert states that it is in country towns and depressed urban areas that anti- Aboriginal feelings run high. In fact, people living in this environment have shared their everyday life with Aboriginals, therefore they know what they are talking about when they do it. Obviously there is no assumption that the differences between the two ethnic groups are inborn; they can, indeed, be attributed to differences in upbringing. For instance, it could be said that white people come from a culture that values privacy, hygiene and industriousness, while Aboriginals do not. Nevertheless, it is obvious that privacy is a

8 Ibid., 161. 9 Ibid.,161. 10 Ibid., 162. virtue more easily achieved if there are not parents with eleven children in a single house; hygiene is a conquest when, as in many Aboriginal reserves, there is no hot or cold running water, no adequate toilet facilities and so on. As regards to industriousness, blacks are seldom given adequate motivation to want to work for long periods and even if they are paid fairly, they will often work to the point where they feel they have enough money. If they were working for themselves rather than for a white man’s benefit, they would probably do twice as much before stopping: it is a function of motivation. Having said this, unless we expect whites to forget overnight all the cultural values learnt during their life, they will find the proximity of Aboriginals unpleasant. Therefore, the author affirms that there are three possible solutions: change the whites; change the Aboriginals or have the two groups live apart. Of course, the first two solutions are paternalistic, while the last one is the solution that has usually emerged in practice. As a matter of fact, blacks and whites, if left to themselves, normally live in separate communities. This is actually the reason why Gilbert is disposed to believe that it is a fact that skin colour keeps people tied within an environment and produces reciprocal riotous behaviour and contempt. One of the examples cited in the book is the following: “Does any line of behaviour factually go with skin colour?[...]Remember that it is commonly acknowledged on Aboriginal reserves that the darker children get the worst go at school. Blackness is the real liability[…]Skin colour is alone a potent creator of the aversion-suspicion reaction in whites” 11.

We cannot celebrate the invasion and theft of our Land ! Kevin John Gilbert held the office of Chairman of the Aboriginal Sovereign Treaty ‘88 Campaign, aimed at having Aboriginal Rights officially recognized by the Australian Government. These records are worth taking into consideration because they are closely linked to the sociopolitical issues Gilbert raises in his works. Below are some of the most important documents released for the above-mentioned campaign:

11 Ibid., 94. Original artwork by K. Gilbert for the cover of the Soverei gn Treaty ’88 Newsletter

Satir ical cartoon histor y of Australia p ublished for the Soverei g n Treat y ’88 Campaign Explicative leaflet about the aims and ob j ectives of the Treat y ‘88 Campaign

Art for art’s sake ? Having developed his art of the written word, Gilbert found graphic art a powerful and complementary expression capable of affirming the reality of which he spoke. Like a fragrance or a photograph, a drawing can evoke the intangible atmosphere and the memory of an event or a situation. Kevin Gilbert recorded a source of his inspiration in the catalogue to the 1988 exhibition Inside Black Australia: “[…]inspired by the need to communicate with the wider community the possibility in this great land; to begin developing a dialogue based on justice, so that ultimately we can begin to develop all people and encompass them in a code of spiritual being and national conduct, which not only reflects the very essence of life itself and the ultimate continuum for Being, but also will enable us, upon attainment, to project that magnanimity of spirit throughout the world.”12

12 AIATSIS Library, S 05/10 (52) "Suzy Coleman: personal interview with Kevin Gilbert, Chairman of Treaty '88 Campaign". In Ethnic Spotlight, 1987; no. 12, p. 17-22, (m0005943_a.pdf). APPENDIX

Lineal Legends

“The legend in that, is a whole sequence of totemic people.” Wahlo: Tribal Law

“That was a cross marriage, a cross relationship, where the woman that this fellow was going with was not open to him by reason of a skin relationship. She was forbidden to him, and so he broke the law and , of course, he was overtaken by the law as he tried to escape from the desert. Which to us is the breaking of the law. Maintaining the law and maintaining society is very important.” Totality

“Totality to me is expressing what we are… We, Aboriginal People, are a total being… We are total in that we cannot remove ourselves in identity from trees from land from the environment from the earth from the universe.” Massacre Mountain

“That was simply a part of the massacres in the time of early colonisation. We’ve got dingo-man we’ve got eagle-man flying and that was just a reflection of what I was feeling the continual destruction always, always the denial of the Peoples’ right.” Corroboree Spirits

“We have here an Aboriginal group here who are very much a part of the landscape, who are almost submerged within the landscape or slightly submerging out of the landscape, and they’re inseparable from the landscape.” Untitled

Web Bibliography/Sites • http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/a333104_a.pdf (©Treaty ’88 Campaign). • http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/a333204_a.pdf (©Treaty ’88 Campaign). • http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0015262_a/m001526 2_a.pdf (©Kevin Gilbert and Eleanor Williams). • http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0066681_a.pdf (©Treaty ’88 Campaign). • http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0005943_a.pdf (©Kevin Gilbert, Chairman, Treaty ’88 Campaign).

Other works by Kevin J. Gilbert

Poetry

• Gilbert, Kevin. End of Dreamtime. Sydney: Island Press, 1971. • Gilbert, Kevin. People are Legends. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, 1979. • Gilbert, Kevin. Inside Black Australia: An Anthology. Melbourne: Penguin Books, 1988. • Gilbert, Kevin. The Blackside: People Are Legends and other poems. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1990. Poetry for children

• Gilbert, Kevin. Child’s dreaming –with Eleanor Williams. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1992. • Gilbert, Kevin. Me and Mary Kangaroo. Melbourne: Viking, 1994.

Drama

• Gilbert, Kevin. The Cherry Pickers: The first Written Aboriginal Play. Canberra: Burrambinga Books, 1988.

Prose

• Gilbert, Kevin. Living Black: Blacks Talk to Kevin Gilbert. Melbourne: Penguin Books, 1978. • Gilbert, Kevin. Aboriginal Sovereignty: Justice, The Law and Land. Canberra: Burrambinga Books, 1993.

Thanks to… My sincere thanks to the supervisor of this thesis, Professor Marco Fazzini, for his helpful collaboration and his advice. I also thank Eleanor Williams for giving me useful information about a man she knew well: Kevin John Gilbert.

Dedication

I gratefully dedicate this thesis to all my secondary school teachers who have never “understood” my real passion: foreign languages. My warmest thanks to them because they gave me the stimulus to do my best to show they were wrong when they suggested I should attend vocational school.