Australian Stories
Defining a Cultural unity through story
Anne E Stewart has a passion for the stories of the land and a body of work that supports it.
On telling indigenous stories she supports the following protocols:
'Artists, writers and performers should desist from unauthorised incorporation of indigenous heritage in
their works. Instead they should support the artistic and cultural development of indigenous peoples and
participate in public awareness campaigns to promote indigenous art and culture.'
Joseph Wambugu Githhaiga
'There is information that is restricted, that our children can not learn about, there is information that is
restricted even to adults, there is information that is of a secret or sacred nature, that many people have
no knowledge of or access to. That knowledge is only there for certain people to have access to.'
Gularrwuy Yunupingu
All artistic and cultural rights of the stories belong to indigenous Australians. However, many
Aboriginal people love storytellers to keep the story alive. You must seek permission to tell the stories
and have respect in the telling. It is expected you name the area where the stories from and which people
it belongs to.
In my travels I have gathered many little gems:
Gorialla the Rainbow Snake, a simple but effective string trick, that tells the story of snake and lizard.
Other string stories include; the Mosquito Story and The Disappearing Yams.
Aboriginal Sky Figures. How the Tasmanian Tiger got his stripes, Ingalparr the crocodile and the stories
of the stars of the Southern Cross.
Napaltjarra's story from The Oxford Companion to Australia Folklore, this powerful yet simple story
won me The Port Fairy Folk Festival Storytelling Competition in 1999.
The Fever Ship Modern mythology starts with the arrival of our early settlers, witness the eerie tale of the
ghost of Port Ormond, down at the end of StKilda Beach.
Eureka Runaways is set on the Goldfields of Ballarat. Lovers from opposite sides, a miner and the
commissioner's daughter, caught in the battle that was the Eureka Uprising, this tragic mystery will haunt you.
Lola Montez's name caused a fever pitch of excitement when she came to the diggings in 1856.
Why Ms Lola Montez packed more into her 42 years than most of us would into five or six lifetimes.
Classic urban myths take on Australian settings in two scary tales, Ghostly Gold and The Dare.
And much more ....
Check out these links:
Articles by Anne E Stewart in: Swag Of Yarns : Australia's National Storytelling Magazine.
Boori Pryor : Indigenous storyteller and author
Pat Torres : Indigenous author, artist and storyteller
Pauline McLeod : Indigenous storyteller
From Daylesford to Nhulunbuy and Back
Born of this Land : Giving voice to the Landscape, the telling of Australian stories
Brambuk : Aboriginal Cultural Centre in The Gariwerd (Grampian) Ranges of Victoria
and the night Snowy Jackson really played Father Christmas
Websites:
Donna Brown's Award
Winning Site :
Donna's site tells the story of the Gounge, a boogey man from up around
Nambucca Heads way, homeland to her people, The Gumbaingirr.
www.abc.net.au/arts/stuff-art/stuff-art99/.
Check out her website
Follow the links to the "Gounge"
Morgan Schatz Blackrose / Storyteller :
Morgon's book Romancing the stories of My life (succeeds) in 'capturing not only the vernacular but also
the lifestyle of a small slice of Australian History.'
Kel Watkins:
Old mate Kel is the master of the tall story and 'has kept alive many bush ballads and epic length narrative
poems' of Australian folklore.
Australian Storytelling Guild:
A fantastic site of information about storytellers and storytelling in Australia.