Shadow Minister,

Take up your arguments with Sutton and Walshe.
They are the ones making the claims about
Aboriginal society and culture . Reading their
book might help. It comes out tomorrow.

Foxy writes: "Sutton and Walshe provide extensive evidence to
support their argument that classical Aboriginal society
was a hunter-gatherer society and as sophisticated as
the traditional European farming method."

Quite a well constructed and erudite sentence from Foxy. Rather atypical of her writing. Oh, that's because she simply stole it holus bolus from the blurb about the book..... http://www.booktopia.com.au/farmers-or-hunter-gatherers--peter-sutton/book/9780522877854.html
She carries on as though she has special knowledge about the book, but in reality she is cherry-picking the commentaries that she likes. The rest she just makes up.
Of course, she's told us that its ok to just make it up.

Pascoe's book tried to overturn the previous understanding of aboriginals being stone age hunter-gathers. And his admirers fell for that with joy. This new book, along with all the other critiques of Pascoe, have completely eviscerated Pascoe's rubbish.

Its probably true that Sutton/Walshe do draw attention to the fact that some aboriginal groups lived a good life on a level with traditional farmers. But that isn't news. Blainey was saying the same thing back in the 1970s

Russell Marks as I acknowledged earlier in his article
makes it quite clear that Pascoe's book "Dark Emu" is not
an "academic" history. It's cultural role is much
like Tim Flannery's "The Weather Makers" (2005) and
Henry Reynolds' "Why Weren't We told?"(1999) is to
"translate" knowledge hitherto trapped inside the
academy and broadcast it to the world.

Marks says that historians had known for a long time that
so called hunter-gatherer economies were highly sophisticated.
Marks refers to Marshall Sahlins' "Stone Age Economics"
( published in 1972). He also points out that there have been
many books, journal articles and conferences devoted to
exploring what the historical, archaeological and
paleontological records show how various nations, tribes,
clans, and groups lived on this continent
before Europeans came and destroyed physical and economic
structures.

Marks also refers to Geoffrey Blainey's "Triumph of the Nomads"
(1075) who offered an earlier public translation of this
kind of history.

Marks tells us that Sutton and Walshe's book needs to be
read carefully, keeping an open mind. That the book's
focus is on both material and spiritual economies and
their misrepresentation. Despite the accusations and the
racist commentary of some, as Marks says - this is not an
exclusively right or left wing issue or a bunfight.

And Bruce Pascoe's "Dark Emu "will continue to be granted
recognition (its in the 40th reprint) .

The Bibliography
that Pascoe provides is impressive. Pascoe used historical
sources, including the journals of explorers. And he is
very pleased that his book has shone a light on this
issue. Sutton and Walshe's book is worth a read. It is
available from all good book shops from tomorrow -
16/06/2021 as well as from local libraries. Staff of course
are fortunate to get copies earlier. Worth reading.

Not one word of which alters the perseptions of many that Pascoe is a cheat and has no claim. to being an Australian Aboriginal.

It would be so easy for him to make his critics eat humble pie, just produce the evidence that he has, after all BD&M have been wrong before.

You are right ls Mise, but there is no convincing self-haters and Marxists. Fortunately, the average Australian is not like them, and they make their decisions at the ballot box without all the yap.

Hi Foxy,

I refuse to engage the forum halfwits on this subject, unlike you and I, none have actually read Pascoe's 'Dark Emu'. Me thinks Issy has a bad case of sour grapes, His book; 'Road Kill Recipes For The Unsuccful Hunter' didn't get past 2 copies, one for Issy and the other to a bloke who was too embarrassed to give his name.

Could you please give me your critique of Issy's book, it doesn't matter if you haven't read it, just tell me how bad it is