Backing up Is Mise's post, original 'debunker' Peter O'Brien, writes on the further debunking of "fauxborigine" Bruce Pascoe's fictitious twaddle.

The academics in question are anthropologist Peter Sutton and archaeologist, Keryn Walshe.

They accuse Pascoe of: "of a “lack of true scholarship”, ignoring Aboriginal voices, dragging respect for traditional Aboriginal culture back into the Eurocentric world of the colonial era, and “trimming” colonial observations to fit his argument. They write that while Dark Emu “purports to be factual” it is “littered with unsourced material, is poorly researched, distorts and exaggerates many points, selectively emphasises evidence to suit those opinions, and ignores large bodies of information that do not support the author’s opinions”.

"Pure fiction", they say.

O'Brien says of Pascoe that he is not some "misguided amateur scholar, whose heart is in the right place" who could perhaps be forgiven for a "few transgressions or misinterpretations". He is a "serious and serial charlatan who has defrauded a generation".

Pascoe’s book should be "withdrawn from bookstores" , his honours and awards rescinded. The commission of a "monumental fraud" has made him a wealthy and famous man

Paul,

You are correct assuming that I haven’t read ‘Dark Emu’, I do have a copy, $2 from the Salvation Army Opshop in Tenterfield; money mis-spent.

Why bring it up now?

Because it’s back in the news, and will keep coming up untill the fraudster is punished.

Foxy,
You were all riveted to the spot, conned would be a more accurate description; conned by a conman!

I remember you once recommending a book, ‘The Colonial Kangaroo Hunt’, it too had an impressive bibliography but turned out to be just another ‘bash the white man’ attempt.

I read a bit past page two but that was enough to shew that the authors were lacking in basic reasoning skills and academic rigour.

For in stance, they had the “ Endeavour” being repaired off the Queensland coast whereas it was repaired on dry (more or less) land, that’s how the Endeavour River got its name.

Issy, you don't have a copy, like ttbn you have never read the book, simply criticising from a position of ignorance. I've read the book and have no problem with it.

I can say I am a better target shooter than you, because I can honestly say I've never missed the "Bulls-Eye". What do you say to that? BTW I've just been on the SSAA web site, there this character Brad Allan pratting on about the best guns to shoot deer with. What would he know, everything he says is bunk!

Russell Marks has written an interesting article
on - "How the history wars avoid debate and reason."

He points out that "Dark Emu" is not an "academic" history.
And tells us that - its cultural role is to "translate"
knowledge hitherto trapped inside the academy and broadcast
it to the world.

We're told that historian had known for a long time that
so-called hunter-gatherer economies were highly sophisticated
and that there have been many books, journal articles and
conferences devoted to exploring what the historical,
archaeological and paleontological records show about how
various nations, tribes, clans, and groups lived on this
continent before Europeans came and destroyed physical
and economic structures.

Marks points out the before he became embroiled in the
"history wars" himself, Geoffrey Blainey with "Triumph of
the Nomads " (1975) offered an earlier public translation
of this kind of history.

It wasn't until the NSW Premier's Literary Awards' judges
voted "Dark Emu" its book of the year in May 2016 that it
began to attract major attention.

The book was adapted by the Bangarra Dance Theatre in mid
2018, by Pascoe himself for children ( as "Young Dark Emu")
in June 2019, and as an ABC documentary by Rachel Perkins'
Blackfella Films.

These last two adaptations in particular brought "Dark Emu"
to the attention of Australia's reactionary right, which has now
built a sizeable echo chamber inside such institutions
as "Quadrant" "Spectator Australia" and the Fox News-styled
Murdoch stable, including Sky News Australia and, of course,
"The Australian."

cont'd ...