City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

The rock, looking into Australia's 'Heart of Darkness' from the edge of its wild frontier, Aaron Smith

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-368)

contains biographical information

maps

no index present

non fiction

The rock

bibliography

Aaron Smith

looking into Australia's 'Heart of Darkness' from the edge of its wild frontier

Journalist Aaron Smith's new memoir holds up a unique mirror to Australia. What he sees is at once amazing, disturbing and revealing. The Rockexplores the failings of our nation's character, its unresolved past and its uncertain future from the vantage point of its most northerly outpost, Thursday Island. Smith was the fearless editor, journalist and the paperboy of Australia's most northerly newspaper, the Torres News, a small independent regional tabloid that up until late 2019 serviced a predominantly Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal readership across some of the most remote and little understood communities in Australia. The Rock is a story of self-discovery where Smith grapples to understand a national identity marred by its racist underbelly, where he is transplanted from his white-boy privileged suburban life to being a racial and cultural minority, and an outsider. Peppered with his experiences, Smith gradually and sensitively becomes embedded in island life while vividly capturing the endless and often farcical parade of personalities and politicians including Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott. Smith pulls no punches while he reflects on the history of Terra Australis incognita, dissecting what is truly Australia, and its gaping cultural and moral divide

adult