THE WHITE GIRL

An important, touching and timely story that shines a light on how successive Australian government policies under the Aboriginal Protection Act have affected Aboriginal lives since colonisation.

Set in 1963 (a few years shy of the 1967 referendum to include Aboriginal people in the census), the novel has been written in two halves. The first half of the novel is set in the country town of Deane (deliberately vague, so it might be anywhere in the west along the eastern fringe) and the mission community where Odette Brown grew up. The second half of the novel is set in 'The Capital' (could be Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) where Aboriginal people were more invisible, and therefore it was easier to evade the watchful eye of the law.

When a new police officer, Sergeant Lowe, arrives in town, he is quick to enforce his role as guardian over the local Aboriginal community. Odette Brown is forced to make a decision - stay in Deane where she has lived her whole life and risk losing her 13-year old granddaughter to the Welfare Board, or flee to the city in search of her estranged daughter. When Odette's health starts to suffer, she realises she has no choice and must take matters into her own hands. But to travel outside the local jurisdiction is forbidden under The Act. In order to flee, Odette disguises Sissy as a white girl, and so begins a high-stakes game of cat and mouse as Odette fights to evade the law. Ultimately, she must choose: assume a false name and stay in hiding forever, or apply for an Exemption Certificate to gain her freedom, and lose her identity.

Tony Birch is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father's Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers' festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University.