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The Nargun And The Stars
''The Nargun and The Stars'' is a children's fantasy novel set in Australia, written by Patricia Wrightson. It was among the first Australian books for children to draw on Australian Aboriginal mythology. The book was the winner of the 1974 Children's Book Council of Australia Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers, and Patricia Wrightson was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1977, largely for this work. The story was adapted for television and screened as a mini-series in Australia in 1981. Plot The story is set in Australia, and involves an orphaned city boy named Simon Brent who comes to live on a 5000-acre sheep station called Wongadilla, in the Hunter Region, with his mother's second cousins, Edie and Charlie. In a remote valley on the property he discovers a variety of ancient Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime creatures. The arrival of heavy machinery intent on clearing the land brings to life the ominous stone Nargun. The Nargun is a creature d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patricia Wrightson
Patricia Wrightson OBE (19 June 1921 – 15 March 2010) was an Australian writer of several highly regarded and influential children's books. Employing a 'magic realism' style, her books, including the award-winning ''The Nargun and the Stars'' (1973), were among the first Australian books for children to draw on Australian Aboriginal mythology. Her 27 books have been published in 16 languages. For her "lasting contribution" as a children's writer, she received the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986. Personal life Wrightson was born Patricia Furlonger on 19 June 1921 in Bangalow, near Lismore, New South Wales, the third of six children. Her father was a country solicitor. She was formerly educated through the State Correspondence School for Isolated Children and St Catherine's College, and also attended a private school in Stanthorpe, Queensland, for one year. Of her education, Wrightson later wrote, “I was really educated in literature, philosophy and wonder b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunai People
The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( ) people, also referred to as the Gunnai or Kurnai, are an Aboriginal Australian nation of south-east Australia. They are the Traditional Custodians of most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The Gunaikurnai nation is composed of five major clans. Many of the Gunaikurnai people resisted early European squatting and subsequent settlement during the nineteenth century, resulting in a number of deadly confrontations between Europeans and the Gunaikurnai. There are about 3,000 Gunaikurnai people alive today, predominantly living in Gippsland. The Gunaikurnai dialects are the traditional language of the Gunaikurnai people, although there are very few fluent speakers today. Creation story It is told that the first Kurnai came down from the north west mountains, with his canoe on his head. He was known as Borun, the pelican. He crossed the Tribal River (where Sale now stands) and walked on into the west to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
