McGrath, Ann --- "Response to Roberta Sykes' Review of Born in the Cattle" [1989] AboriginalLawB 53; (1989) 1(40) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 14

• Response To Roberta Sykes’ Review Of Born In The Cattle

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Response to Roberta Sykes’ Review of Born in the Cattle

See Roberta Skyes’ Review, [1989] AboriginalLB 52; 2(40)pg13

by Ann McGrath

This review certainly reflects problems with the terminology and sequence of Born in the Cattle, but maybe the explanation lies not in the book itself but elsewhere.

The unqualified term `settlers' is not used in Born in the Cattle. Nor does `banditry' describe general Aboriginal resistance. It refers to the predominantly male bands which operated after most Aborigines in pastoral districts were camping on stations and generally co-operating with the white pastoralists. Unlike earlier resistance, these did not try to overthrow the system, though they could threaten stability and were both feared and loved by Aborigines as their bushrangers.

The discussion of Aboriginal women's sexual labour, contained in chapter four, obviously proceeds chapter one, "The Battle for the Waterholes" which explicitly analyses colonial violence and its psychological impact. Therefore I fail to see how the `climate of fear' comes too late. (see ppl-10). `Choice' is indeed a highly complex issue; it must always be portrayed in historical context. As for Sykes' term `lucky', station people were luckier than those kicked off their land. But it was their own talent and flexibility which enabled them to stay there. In their struggles for security and peace, many northern Aborigines integrated the cattle industry into their culture, which in ways subverted colonialism. The celebratory aspect of Born in the Cattle is that these people negotiated their way to successful survival.

Besides the fact that Born in the Cattle does not attempt to mask its non-Aboriginal authorship, it seems that Sykes' objections might really be to the attitudes espoused by those Aborigines who `grew up' on the cattle stations, nurturing the land in new ways. There are those who believe we (all of us) should dwell exclusively on fights to the death - the humiliating stories of massacres, conflict and victimization. Yet as an historian, I could not ignore the views of the Aboriginal station people who instead bragged about their stockwork and even their sexual skills, who were keen to emphasize the more co-operatived relationships which emerged from their struggles with colonialism. It is my view, and of those dozens of Aboriginal people who shared their experiences, that this was something equally worth talking and writing about. Surely such models offer us all more hope?