Knowledge, power and possession among the Aborigines

Home » Publications » Lifestyle magazines » Political magazines » Arena Magazine » February 2003 » Save Export Print Cite Melinda Hinkson on knowledge, power and possession among the Aborigines.(Book Review) Arena Magazine Arena Magazine February 1, 2003 | Hinkson, Melinda | Copyright Permalink Barry Hill Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession Sydney, Random House, 2002 In the history of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal interactions Ted Strehlow is a powerfully symbolic figure, and multi-dimensional in terms of the associations his name evokes today--deep knowledge of central Australian Aboriginal culture and language, collector of songs and secret/sacred ceremonial objects, protector and champion of Aboriginal rights, and, ultimately, betrayer of the cause to which he dedicated his life. Random House have banked on the wide public appeal of Strehlow's story in publishing Hill's weighty tome--a massive 800+ pages. Their investment has paid off: Broken Song is the most intellectually engaged, thought-provoking, wide-ranging, and gripping biography to have been produced to date about an Australian working in the arena of Aboriginal affairs. Expansive in its scope, Hill's book weaves Strehlow's story through multiple dimensions of intellectual and cultural history, bringing the lenses of literary theory and psychology to bear on a deeply flawed, yet remarkable, figure.