Black Sheep

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Roger Jose had lived in Borroloola in an upside-down water tank with his Aboriginal wife Maggie for most of the twentieth century. An eccentric, a hermit, a bushman, a bush philosopher and the last custodian of the famous Borroloola Library before it was eaten by termites, he practised reconciliation long before the idea was tossed around as a political football. In this highly original book, novelist Nicholas Jose mixes biography, history, travel and politics to enter the world of Roger Jose. Could he be the mystery relative, the black sheep that the family never speaks of Jose's journey takes him to Borroloola, located on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia's northernmost shore and on the routes of navigation between East and West. A place where white men lived like blackfellas, and where Aboriginal culture remained strong enough to extend its power into present day politics. "Black Sheep" tells Roger Jose's story, and chronicles other meetings across the Gulf Country. Jose investigates the community of Doomadgee, a troubled former mission, and the ongoing fight over Century, the world's biggest zinc mine on the fringes of Lawn Hill National Park and the World Heritage fossil site at Riversleigh. "Black Sheep" is the searching response of a contemporary Australian writer to his challenging heritage, and to a world where language itself must struggle across lines of race and culture to reach new understandings.