Published to commemorate the author’s 100th birthday,
this wide-ranging and thoughtful collection reflects
on history, colonisation, family, childhood, Aboriginal
Dreaming, traditions and storytelling, working lives and
people.
Sometimes wistful, melancholic, poignant, at times the
author’s wry sense of fun and humour shines through.
When he arrived in Sydney in the 1960s, Bigambul man,
Uncle Wes, was not allowed to tell his stories at schools.
He set up a fire bucket in his backyard and invited families
and children from the local Aboriginal community to come
to sit around the fire and share his stories. It did not take
long for the police to arrive and arrest him for hosting
an unlawful gathering – he spent two days in lock-up for
sharing his stories.
Uncle Wes is a living treasure of Aboriginal storytelling
wisdom. Through his poems Uncle Wes invites the
reader to join him by the fire as he generously shares his
reflections and reminiscences on one hundred years.