Cape York - The Savage Frontier

[Geoffsa]

I have purchased this book by Rodney Liddell from Loyalty Beach and have found it quite interesting.

Excellent history about the Jardine Family and early inhabitation of the natives.

An attempt was made to ban the book by corrupt politicians, but the attempt failed.

Well worth the purchase price.

Geoff.

[geoffjy]

I can guarantee you it wasnt the "corrupt politians" that tried to ban it.

[xina]

Then who did Geoff ?
Cheers,
xina.

Never mind. I should have checked the book out before I posted the question. Can't see anything I didn't already know about initially though, from the Chapter Headings, except for Chapter 1 subject material.

Cheers,
xina.

[Geoffsa]

I can guarantee you it wasnt the "corrupt politians" that tried to ban it.

Geoff,

Sorry if I've hit a raw nerve, but I was only going by what I've read.

Who did try to ban the book?

Geoff.

[barney]

Hey Geoffsa, the book is an interesting read but should obviously be taken with a grain of salt. It is a self published book - no publishers were game to touch it. An attempt was made to ban the book by Federal politicians, not because they were corrupt as claimed, but because they were rightly concerned re: some of the claims made by the author.
I don't believe it should or could ever have been banned (freedom of the press and all that), but I'm also not into conspiracy theories as purported in this book - particularly ones that claim we've been duped by anthropologists, government and the ABC jointly, and that carbon dating is a nonsense. Sorry - I'd rather take the word of our more eminent scientists any day. Each to their own but, everyone's entitled to their own opinion I guess.

[geoffjy]

Well said Barney. Saying that, there is a fair bit of truth in it also that certain people dont want readily known. You just have to sort through it.

[xina]

Been trying to check out the origins of the "Ulotrici" mentioned in the book.
All I can find so far,[just by Googling,] is a reference to 2 tribes in Papua, of that name, one of which was a Pygmy tribe, and the other was taller.

Now think about the Tablelands Tribe of [they were called Pygmies in the '40's] Negrito type aborigines.

Ulotrici is an Italian word meaning [regarding Hair,] "Woolly, curly to flat section, typical of Negroid Races."

Haven't stopped looking yet, but that is all I've managed to find so far.

Was a bit disappointed to see the authors' campsite was so close to civilisation,----Cape Tribulation. The blurb made it sound as if he lived in complete isolation in the middle of nowhere while writing the book.

Cheers,
xina.

[Brigalow]

I have purchased this book by Rodney Liddell from Loyalty Beach and have found it quite interesting.

Excellent history about the Jardine Family and early inhabitation of the natives.

An attempt was made to ban the book by corrupt politicians, but the attempt failed.

Well worth the purchase price.

Geoff.

G'Day Geoff,Im with you about the book,its a darn good read and like the Rivers of gold it gives you an idea just how tuff the people both black and white did it in those torrid days...

I was a little bit lucky to run across Rod.Liddell at Lakeland pub in around 1997 and brought my book back then with his monagram inside it...so yes when you mentioned it I had to dig the old copy out and flick through it again...

Banning was not the right term for what happened to him.

You must remember that back around 1994 when he started to get his book out to the publishers the Keating govenment was running the show and it was just after the Marbo high court judgments and the Wick one was comming up..and yes I nearly forgot about Pauline Hanson was making waves...
So to cut this a little bit short...everybody was frighted off about racisim...then this pip squeek from up north wanted to publish a book about aboriginals eating people and there ancestory being of NG and Indian/Ceylon....Daaaa the high court judges couldnt be wrong in there judgements now could they?so the black ban was put out to stop this so an so....
It worked pretty good,no one would publish his stuff...so after the election of 1996 and a change of govenment sanity prevailed and Rod did his own publishing.

So that was his story to me...so he joined the self doers the likes of Alby Mangles and I suppose Mal Gibson...when the establishment wont help,then do it your self...;)

[barney]

Yeh, Liddell used to have a bit of a set up here in Weipa at the caravan park where any number of tourists were able to purchase a signed book - lots of those floating around, they still sell the books here at the Weipa newsagency. He tells a good story, hey.

Don't get me wrong, it is an interesting read, particularly some of his information re: the Jardines and Somerset. Plaudits to him for taking the effort to write the book, something I could never have the patience to do.

His argument regarding Indigenous Anthropology is not, and was not new.

Here's a link to a more recent anthropological study which refutes his assertions, but is also questioned by other readers as being acurate. No doubt this debate will continue on in years to come...

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/1286/dna-confirms-aboriginal-australian-origins

A discussion with some of the anthropologists who work for TSRA (Torres Strait Regional Authority) in the straits on this question of DNA is really interesting, as is taking the time to talk to some of the elders from Mabuiag and further north to Malu Kiwai and Saibai. SBS also had a recent story on "Who do you think you are", with Christine Anu tracing her family, and finding reference to them in some of Hadden's work, kept over at Cambridge.

The problem I (and many others) have with Liddell's work is his very absolute assertions such as -

“The most controversial and historically accurate book” ever written on Australian history"

and...

On what he calls the "greatest academic cover up the world has ever witnessed", aided and abetted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Liddell states:

"It is no coincidence that many anthropologists involved in promoting this false aboriginality are the most highly paid academics in Australia...In recent years the Australian public have been subjected to a massive indoctrination campaign, designed to “Mentally Program” Australians, into accepting a mass of false and misleading information relative to the occupation of Australia by aborigines."

Hmmm.......

By all means read the book, (I have a copy!) enjoy it and just make sure you take it for what it is - one man's interpretation of events, not historical fact.

[Geoffsa]

Thanks to all for your replies, and I have taken the book for what it is.

I have also had a PM from Geoffjy which was quite informative.

One other thing is, it has certainly made my intentions for another trip to the top high on the agenda.
Unfortunately I didn't open the book until we came home to SA, so the visit to Somerset, etc would have been more interesting if I had read the book prior to our visit.

We'll be back.

Geoff.

[geoffjy]

SBS also had a recent story on "Who do you think you are", with Christine Anu tracing her family, and finding reference to them in some of Hadden's work, kept over at Cambridge.


Must have missed it on TV. I had them in the centre last year doing research.