INDEX

- Biographical notes;

- Committed Poetry;

- Prose as an illustrative background for poetry;

-“What does, factually, go with black skin?”;

- We cannot celebrate the invasion and theft of our Land!;

- Art for art’s sake?;

- A ppendix: Lineal Legends; Wahlo: Tribal Law; Totality: Massacre Mountain;

Corroboree Spirits; Untitled;

- Thanks and dedication.

Kevin John Gilbert

Australian Aboriginal flag

Kevin J. Gilb ert: “What will we do with the ‘natives’?”

-The Aboriginal point of view-

Biographical notes:Kevin John Gilbert was born in 1933 in the Wiradjuri Aboriginal area, on the New South

Wales Australian coast. He was orphaned at the age of seven and, as an adult, spent many

years in prison for the unintentional killing of his wife. Whilst in prison, he realised that

conditions for prisoners, although bad, were on the whole better than the conditions in

which his own people lived. As a consequence, he began to educate himself using

dictionaries and encyclopaedias so as to be able to express his ideas artistically. Kevin

Gilbert succeeded in realising his projects and, as a matter of fact, he has been widely

recognised as a pioneering Aboriginal artist and has received some important awards. He

died in early 1993 aged fifty-nine after having stimulated the never-ending struggle for

Aboriginal Rights.

Committed poetry:The starting point for this research is represented by two representative poems taken from

the collection called Black from the Edge 1, published in 1994. The first one is the most

emblematic:

What will we do with the “natives”?

Tuck them Blacksaround the corner

out of sightif sight you can

out in the lightthey grieve our conscience

calling out for Rightsof man

we here arefar too busy

earning tourist money1 Gilbert, Kevin. Black from the Edge. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1994.

quids

time is moneysouvenirs

and tourists take our timenot kids.

Which I have translated as follows:

Cosa faremo dei “nativi”?

Nascondete i Neridietro l’angolo,

fuori dalla vostra vista,se di vista siete dotati

Alla luce del soleaffliggono la nostra coscienza

chiedendo DirittiUmani

Qui, noi siamofin troppo impegnati

a guadagnare i soldi dei turisti,sterline

Il tempo è denaro,regalini,

e i turisti ci rubano il temposenza pensare ai nostri figli.

This poem clearly presents the main themes shaping Gilbert’s literary production, that is to

say, racism, human rights, economic issues and exploitation of the land for touristic

purposes. Despite being an aborigine, Kevin Gilbert approaches all of these subjects from

the perspective of the Australian white society as well. This is evident when we start

analysing the above-mentioned poem in detail; in fact, the author uses a viewpoint that

makes the reader imagine that Gilbert is someone outside both social environments. He

indeed refers to the blacks by using the personal pronoun them (“Tuck them Blacks /

around the corner…”) and to the whites by using the pronoun you (“[…]out of sight / if

sight you can…”). Nonetheless, he also makes use of the possessive adjective our when

he refers to white people (“[…]they grieve our conscience…”), but also when referring to

the blacks (“[…]and tourists take our time / not kids.”). This use of our clearly shows

Gilbert’s emotional and personal involvement with the problems he is tackling. He is

actually describing the world in which he lives and acts to improve the Aboriginal living

conditions.

The second poem I have chosen as one of the most representative of the aborigine’s

feelings towards white people and of their social situation is the following:

Notice to territory tourists

To you who walk amidstand then pass by

intrigued by these art shopsand man’s estatethank god or he

to whom your country praysthat being born at Alice

as a Black was not your fate

They stole my countryfouled my paradise

they take you by the handto ‘see the sights’

look long think deepon history understand

you witness hereAustralia’s inhumanity

to man.

My own translation of this poem is:

Avviso ai turisti

A voi che camminate tra di noie passate al nostro fianco,

affascinati da questi negozi d’artee da queste terre,

ringraziate Dio, o coluial quale il vostro paese prega,

perchè essere un Nero nato ad Alice Springsnon fu il vostro destino

Rubarono la mia nazione,rovinarono il mio paradiso

ed ora vi accompagnano per manoad ammirare il panorama.Guardate lontano, pensate

alla storia e rendetevi contoche qui siete testimoni

della disumanità dell’Australianei confronti dell’uomo.

In this poem, Gilbert’s direct way of addressing to foreign tourists (“To you who walk

amidst / and then pass by…”) seems to bring the “Aboriginal Matter” to international

importance. Moreover, Gilbert includes a final exhortation to the same foreigners to think

about the History of Australia and its inhabitants (“[…]look long think deep / on history

understand / you witness here / Australia’s inhumanity / to man.”), comprehending a sort

of anthropomorphic image of Australia through the substantive “inhumanity”; which is the

same inhumanity shown by the whites throughout the centuries towards the aborigines.

Prose as an illustrative background for poetry :In order to have a deeper understanding of the issues raised by the author, we have also to

consider Gilbert’s prose works. In particular, his last book entitled Because a white man’ll

never do it 2, first published in 1973, throws light upon the whole range of topics he has

been dealing with throughout his life and literary production. It can undoubtedly be stated

that his prose works give an explicatory background to his poetry, and we can easily

understand it by reading the dedication contained in this work: “This book is dedicated to

the Aboriginal patriots of Australia who have refused to sell out, have refused to pay that

ultimate ‘price of survival’ demanded by the white boss…and to the mass of blacks, ‘poor

buggars all’, who are still waiting…” 3. In the Author’s Note following the dedication,

Gilbert also writes: “[…]it seems to me that there has long been too damn much research

and not enough action[…]Black writers don’t seem to get very much support from either

government or big companies.” 4 In the first chapter, Race Memories, the author suggests a

possible solution to the “Aboriginal Matter” by underlining the need to give them –the

aborigines- back their land rights and let them try and rectify what the white man has done,

because a white man will never do it. This is the issue that underlies the whole

development of the book even though it is only considered by the author as the starting

point of a long-dreamed social and political national reform.

Despite these preliminary remarks about Kevin Gilbert’s prose which could give the

impression of a stereotyped kind of writing concerning racism, we realize, as we go

through the text, that this feeling is only partially true. As a matter of fact, Gilbert’s

perspective on the issues he raises is meant to be as objective as possible by offering an

impartial view on the two “worlds”: the white and the black one. A significant example on

this matter can be found in the thirteenth chapter, Love’s Labor’s Lost – the reality of the

2 Gilbert, Kevin. Because a White Man’ll Never Do It. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1973.3 Ibidem, VII.4 Ibid., 162.

reserves, in which the author doesn’t hesitate to blame his own people for some of their

attitudes and social convictions. In one of the most crucial passages, we read: […]if a quarter-caste woman spends all her income on taxis and grog while her kids starve and get sick, then

I believe that it is a matter of private selfishness and corruption rather than the fault of any larger racial issue[…]It is easier, I think, for a white man to write about the black situation for he either takes a ‘they’re

bums’ attitude or, alternatively, a mea culpa line. 5

Nonetheless, immediately afterwards he makes the point clearer: “[…]let nothing that I say

here about black culpability be used by any white man to excuse his grasping, mean-

minded inhumanity.”6 With regard to the blacks’ social attitude, Gilbert states that they are

psychologically far from being aware of the need for community self-discipline and

organization. In addition, it is much easier and less painful for them to project their energy

out, that is to say, into hatred for the white man. Furthermore, because discrimination by

white people against blacks is so universal in the whole of Australia, it has also become a

tool which blacks use to dodge responsibility. Frequently, the cry of ‘discrimination’ is just

a defence against one’s psychological and social growth. One of the most meaningful

examples given by the author is that of an Aboriginal man who suffers permanent

crippling as a result of injuries received when he was blind drunk; he generally blames the

cops or the white man for his condition, without accepting that it was his own irresponsible

stupidity that has ruined his body. Moreover, he asserts that it is the white man’s fault if

the wine has been brought into the country!

Another aspect that marks the Aboriginal social attitude out is ‘fear’. The point is that the

Aboriginal microcosm - the reserve- is usually a place where only legendary negative

remnants of tribal lore have survived. For instance, there are a lot of stories telling about

dreaded beings who inhabits a certain swamp, spirits of the night, giant killer dogs, and so

on. Then, there are the memories of how white people massacred aborigines, raped girls

and tortured his population. All these things contribute to the creation of a gloomy

atmosphere which is part of the cement that binds Aboriginal communities together.

Having said this, it is easily comprehensible that the fear is strong and the tales haunt these

people as they have always haunted backward country people. Gilbert concludes this

theme asking the following question to the reader: Does it explain, in part, why these people need the security of their own, why they can’t leave a reserve to

live elsewhere, except in company? Why the reserve, however hellish it is, is still a familiar comfort? Anyone who remembers being scared of the dark as a kid will understand alright.” 7

5 Ibid., 149.6 Ibid., 150.7 Ibid., 156.

Together with fear, social unproductiveness is also to be considered an element which has

contributed to the Aboriginal isolation. In fact, even if there are jobs, many aborigines

won’t work because, to quote Gilbert himself: “[…]why work when your cousin who is on

social services gets very little less than you can earn, for doing nothing?” 8. Practically, it

is only when there is work for everybody, as a community, that blacks will not tolerate

lazybones. However, there might be the possibility for some Aboriginal families to find

seasonal employment. Nonetheless, as the author states, gambling would soon have them

broke again, because they would wonder why they should save the money earned. In fact,

they know that, if they were to bring any money back to the reserve, it would soon be

wasted in handouts to relatives or to supplement the dole they would be on the rest of the

year. Besides, as Gilbert eventually remarks, “[…]what would they put a few hundred

dollars into? They have no land, no identity, no pride of race and consequently nothing to

build for, save for, work for. So why not splurge it and have some fun while you can?” 9.

Accordingly, the only viable solution suggested by the author is a regeneration of the black

population through self-determination, however hesitant the first steps, because the only

thing that years of white administration have proved is that it doesn’t and it can’t work.

This kind of solution is feasible only because, to cite again Gilbert’s words: “Out of

Australia’s sad and inhumane past a people are slowly limping home to a state of justice.

The cripple, the alcoholic[…]the victims are slowly shedding the oppressive cocoons of

‘protection’, ‘assistance’, ‘welfare’ and ‘assimilation’.”10

“What does, factually, go with black skin?”An act of faith, the title of the sixth chapter of Because a white man’ll never do it, is the

most enlightening one as it gives the reader an accurate account of how racism pervades

the whole Australian and global white society.

First of all, Gilbert states that it is in country towns and depressed urban areas that anti-

Aboriginal feelings run high. In fact, people living in this environment have shared their

everyday life with Aboriginals, therefore they know what they are talking about when they

do it. Obviously there is no assumption that the differences between the two ethnic groups

are inborn; they can, indeed, be attributed to differences in upbringing. For instance, it

could be said that white people come from a culture that values privacy, hygiene and

industriousness, while Aboriginals do not. Nevertheless, it is obvious that privacy is a

8 Ibid., 161.9 Ibid.,161.10 Ibid., 162.

virtue more easily achieved if there are not parents with eleven children in a single house;

hygiene is a conquest when, as in many Aboriginal reserves, there is no hot or cold

running water, no adequate toilet facilities and so on. As regards to industriousness, blacks

are seldom given adequate motivation to want to work for long periods and even if they

are paid fairly, they will often work to the point where they feel they have enough money.

If they were working for themselves rather than for a white man’s benefit, they would

probably do twice as much before stopping: it is a function of motivation. Having said this,

unless we expect whites to forget overnight all the cultural values learnt during their life,

they will find the proximity of Aboriginals unpleasant. Therefore, the author affirms that

there are three possible solutions: change the whites; change the Aboriginals or have the

two groups live apart. Of course, the first two solutions are paternalistic, while the last one

is the solution that has usually emerged in practice. As a matter of fact, blacks and whites,

if left to themselves, normally live in separate communities. This is actually the reason

why Gilbert is disposed to believe that it is a fact that skin colour keeps people tied within

an environment and produces reciprocal riotous behaviour and contempt. One of the

examples cited in the book is the following: “Does any line of behaviour factually go with

skin colour?[...]Remember that it is commonly acknowledged on Aboriginal reserves that

the darker children get the worst go at school. Blackness is the real liability[…]Skin colour

is alone a potent creator of the aversion-suspicion reaction in whites” 11.

We cannot celebrate the invasion and theft of our Land ! Kevin John Gilbert held the office of Chairman of the Aboriginal Sovereign Treaty ‘88

Campaign, aimed at having Aboriginal Rights officially recognized by the Australian

Government. These records are worth taking into consideration because they are closely

linked to the sociopolitical issues Gilbert raises in his works. Below are some of the most

important documents released for the above-mentioned campaign:

11 Ibid., 94.

Original artwork by K. Gilbert for the cover of the Soverei gn Treaty ’88 Newsletter

Satir ical cartoon histor y of Australia published for the Soverei g n Treat y ’88 Campaign

Explicative leaflet about the aims and ob jectives of the Treat y ‘88 Campaign

Art for art’s sake ? Having developed his art of the written word, Gilbert found graphic art a powerful and

complementary expression capable of affirming the reality of which he spoke. Like a

fragrance or a photograph, a drawing can evoke the intangible atmosphere and the memory

of an event or a situation. Kevin Gilbert recorded a source of his inspiration in the

catalogue to the 1988 exhibition Inside Black Australia: “[…]inspired by the need to

communicate with the wider community the possibility in this great land; to begin

developing a dialogue based on justice, so that ultimately we can begin to develop all

people and encompass them in a code of spiritual being and national conduct, which not

only reflects the very essence of life itself and the ultimate continuum for Being, but also

will enable us, upon attainment, to project that magnanimity of spirit throughout the

world.”12

12 AIATSIS Library, S 05/10 (52) "Suzy Coleman: personal interview with Kevin Gilbert, Chairman of Treaty '88 Campaign". In Ethnic Spotlight, 1987; no. 12, p. 17-22, (m0005943_a.pdf).

APPENDIX

Lineal Legends

© Kevin Gilbert Estate(1965)

“The legend in that, is a whole sequence of totemic people.”

Wahlo: Tribal Law

© Kevin Gilbert Estate(1967)

“That was a cross marriage, a cross relationship, where the woman that this fellow was going with was not open to him by reason of a skin relationship. She was forbidden to him, and so he broke the law and , of course, he was overtaken by the law as he tried to escape from the desert. Which to us is the breaking of the law. Maintaining the law and maintaining society is very important.”

Totality

© Kevin Gilbert Estate(1965)

“Totality to me is expressing what we are…We, Aboriginal People, are a total being…

We are total in that we cannot remove ourselves in identity from treesfrom land

from the environmentfrom the earth

from the universe.”

Massacre Mountain

© Kevin Gilbert Estate (1965)

“That was simply a part of the massacres in the time of early colonisation. We’ve got dingo-man we’ve got eagle-man flying and that was just a reflection of what I was feeling

the continual destruction always, always the denial of the Peoples’ right.”

Corroboree Spirits

© Kevin Gilbert Estate(1967)

“We have here an Aboriginal group here who are very much a part of the landscape, who are almost submerged within the landscape or slightly submerging out of the landscape,

and they’re inseparable from the landscape.”

Untitled

© Kevin Gilbert Estate(1980)

Bibliography• Gilbert, Kevin. Black from the Edge. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1994.

• Gilbert, Kevin. Because a White Man’ll Never Do It. Sydney: Angus &

Robertson, 1973.

Web Bibliography/Sites• http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/a333104_a.pdf

(©Treaty ’88 Campaign).

• http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/a333204_a.pdf

(©Treaty ’88 Campaign).

• http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0015262_a/m001526

2_a.pdf (©Kevin Gilbert and Eleanor Williams).

• http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0066681_a.pdf

(©Treaty ’88 Campaign).

• http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/t88/m0005943_a.pdf

(©Kevin Gilbert, Chairman, Treaty ’88 Campaign).

Other works by Kevin J. Gilbert

Poetry

• Gilbert, Kevin. End of Dreamtime. Sydney: Island Press, 1971.

• Gilbert, Kevin. People are Legends. Brisbane: University of Queensland

Press, 1979.

• Gilbert, Kevin. Inside Black Australia: An Anthology. Melbourne: Penguin

Books, 1988.

• Gilbert, Kevin. The Blackside: People Are Legends and other poems.

Melbourne: Hyland House, 1990.

Poetry for children

• Gilbert, Kevin. Child’s dreaming –with Eleanor Williams. Melbourne:

Hyland House, 1992.

• Gilbert, Kevin. Me and Mary Kangaroo. Melbourne: Viking, 1994.

Drama

• Gilbert, Kevin. The Cherry Pickers: The first Written Aboriginal Play.

Canberra: Burrambinga Books, 1988.

Prose

• Gilbert, Kevin. Living Black: Blacks Talk to Kevin Gilbert. Melbourne:

Penguin Books, 1978.

• Gilbert, Kevin. Aboriginal Sovereignty: Justice, The Law and Land.

Canberra: Burrambinga Books, 1993.

Thanks to…

My sincere thanks to the supervisor of this thesis, Professor

Marco Fazzini, for his helpful collaboration and his advice. I

also thank Eleanor Williams for giving me useful

information about a man she knew well: Kevin John Gilbert.

Dedication

I gratefully dedicate this thesis to all my secondary school

teachers who have never “understood” my real passion: foreign

languages. My warmest thanks to them because they gave me

the stimulus to do my best to show they were wrong when they

suggested I should attend vocational school.