The term fringe dwellers has been used in Australia to describe groups of
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
s who camp on the outskirts of
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s and cities, from which they have become excluded, generally through law or land
alienation as a result of
colonisation. In
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South Australia, the term was applied particularly in the early days of settlement to those who camped in the
Adelaide park lands around the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
.
Fringe dwellers are also referred to as "Long Grassers" in contemporary times, especially in Northern Australia where year-long warm weather conditions allow itinerant Aborigines to live indefinitely on the outskirts of towns without official places of residence.
The term was used for the 1961 novel ''
The Fringe Dwellers
''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel '' The Fringe Dwellers'' by Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann ...
'' by
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n author
Nene Gare
Nene Gare (9 May 191929 May 1994) was an Australian writer and artist, best known as the author of the novel ''The Fringe Dwellers'' (1961), which was made into the 1986 Australian film of the same name directed by Bruce Beresford.
Personal li ...
.
[Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann, London, 1961)] That book was adapted as the 1986 Australian film ''
The Fringe Dwellers
''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel '' The Fringe Dwellers'' by Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann ...
'', directed by
Bruce Beresford.
See also
*
Alienation (property law)
In property law, alienation is the voluntary act of an owner of some property to dispose of the property, while alienability, or being alienable, is the capacity for a piece of property or a property right to be sold or otherwise transferred from ...
*
The Fringe Dwellers
''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel '' The Fringe Dwellers'' by Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann ...
, a 1986 film
*
The Fringe Dwellers (novel)
''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1961 novel written by the Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann, London, 1961). It was made into a 1986 film of the same name di ...
, a 1961 novel
References
{{reflist
Indigenous Australian culture
Homelessness in Australia