Dispossession and the Making of Jedda: Hollywood in Ngunnawal Country

(Hardback)

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A personal account of coming to terms with a history of dispossession and colonial power relations.

Dispossession and the Making of Jedda (1955) brings together a history of race relations, pastoral boom and film-making. It is a personal account of coming to terms with a history of dispossession and colonial power relations in a place that has offered the author a strong sense of belonging and settler-colonial family heritage.

'This book brilliantly evokes two intersecting histories the making of Jedda, a remarkable film set in Australia's north, and the nature of race relations in faraway Ngunnawal country, where those who financed Jedda made their fortunes. In its intimate exploration of the legacies and paradoxes of settler colonialism, it illuminates not only the times it portrays but also our own.' Ann Curthoys, professor emerita, Australian National University

'A remarkable and unexpected story. In Catherine Kevin's telling, Jedda becomes much more than a landmark in Australian film history. The book also brings together the history of her own settler family, who were members of the pastoral elite that financed Jedda, and the larger history of what Whites did to Indigenous people in taking possession of the continent. Jedda is a tragic tale of the spectacular remote outback, but it is also entangled in surprising ways with the dispossession and marginalisation of Aboriginal people in country much closer to the places most white Australians call home.' Frank Bongiorno, professor of history, Australian National University

Reviews

"This book makes a vital and important contribution to the study of colonialism in Australia and should be considered an indispensable text for scholars in Indigenous Studies, History, Film Studies and Cultural Studies. Its accessible analysis of Jedda makes it an excellent teaching resource for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, especially in Australian Film Studies. Camille Nurka, Independent scholar, Australian Historical Studies"

This book brilliantly evokes two intersecting histories the making of Jedda, a remarkable film set in Australias north, and the nature of race relations in faraway Ngunnawal country, where those who financed Jedda made their fortunes. In its intimate exploration of the legacies and paradoxes of settler colonialism, it illuminates not only the times it portrays but also our own. Ann Curthoys, professor emerita, Australian National University

A remarkable and unexpected story. In Catherine Kevins telling, Jedda becomes much more than a landmark in Australian film history. The book also brings together the history of her own settler family, who were members of the pastoral elite that financed Jedda, and the larger history of what Whites did to Indigenous people in taking possession of the continent. Jedda is a tragic tale of the spectacular remote outback, but it is also entangled in surprising ways with the dispossession and marginalisation of Aboriginal people in country much closer to the places most white Australians call home. Frank Bongiorno, professor of history, Australian National University

This engaging book offers a new approach to an iconic Australian film. It narrates the untold histories of both the Yass Valley graziers who financed the film and the Ngunnawal people whose lives uncannily paralleled the colonial and assimilationist themes Jedda explored. Intimate and searching in the questions that it asks, this thoughtful study reveals the complexities of family memory which can both illuminate and suppress uncomfortable histories. Shino Konishi, senior lecturer, Centre for Western Australian History, University of Western Australia

This is a significant book because it reveals aspects of Australian history that have been hitherto hidden in the memories of descendants of settler-colonial families. The story herein is a remarkable convergence of not only a cast of very notable names from both the Aboriginal community and settler-colonial grazier families but also one of the most important characters in early Australian cinema history, Charles Chauvel. An amazing tale, well written and a good read. Gary Foley, Professor of History, Moondani Balluk, Victoria University

"In Dispossession and the Making of Jedda, Catherine Kevin offers a quietly compelling account of a paradox that defined settler colonialism in mid-20th century Australia: its fascination with Aboriginality at a distanceon screen and in the scenic centre and north of Australiaalongside its inability to see the ongoing dispossession of Aboriginal people close to home. At the heart of Kevins narrative is the glaring disparity she discovered between the taken-for-granted relations of Yass Valley woolgrowers with the Ngunnawal people (who worked in their homes) and the colonial nostalgia that drew these same woolgrowers to participate in the adventure of making Jedda. Felicity Collins, La Trobe University, Journal of Australian Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2020.1836740"

In Dispossession and the Making of Jedda, Catherine Kevin offers a quietly compelling account of a paradox that defined settler colonialism in mid-20th century Australia: its fascination with Aboriginality at a distanceon screen and in the scenic centre and north of Australiaalongside its inability to see (let alone comprehend) the ongoing dispossession of Aboriginal people close to home. Felicity Collins (2020) Dispossession and the Making of Jedda, Journal of Australian Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14443058.2020.1836740

Author Bio

Catherine Kevin is a senior lecturer in history at Flinders University, Australia. She has published on the histories of domestic violence, pregnancy and miscarriage, feminism and maternity, postWorld War II migration to Australia and the making of the film Jedda (1955). Kevins work has appeared in a range of Australian and international journals and edited collections.