Palm Island: Through a Long Lens

Based on extensive archival and oral history research as well as on personal connections with the community, this volume challenges the prevailing negative view of Palm Island, Australia, and argues against the failure to address today’s continuing Indigenous disadvantage. This substantial history recounts some of the most explosive episodes in Queensland history, including the 1930 rampage by the first Superintendent, the community-wide strike by reserve workers… (more)

Based on extensive archival and oral history research as well as on personal connections with the community, this volume challenges the prevailing negative view of Palm Island, Australia, and argues against the failure to address today’s continuing Indigenous disadvantage. This substantial history recounts some of the most explosive episodes in Queensland history, including the 1930 rampage by the first Superintendent, the community-wide strike by reserve workers in 1957, and the tragic death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee, which triggered civil unrest within the Indigenous community. Often heart-wrenching and at times uplifting, this account is essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of power and privilege and their contestation.