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NO SUGAR

 

  • Set in the 1920's and 1930's

  • Perth, Northam, Moore River Native Settlement

 

  • First performed in 1985

  • Attemps to expose Australia racism

  • Great depression

  • Focuses on an Indigenous family

  • White superiority

  • Aboriginal disempowerment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DEPRESSION

 

 

What do you already know about the depression? (pair/share)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Unemployment

  • Poverty

  • Hardship

  • Working women also homemakers

  • Attitudes to migrants were negative - fear of them 'stealing' jobs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFE OF AN INDIGENOUS PERSON DURING THE 1920's

 

 

What was life like for an Indigenous person during the 1920's? Discuss what you already know with the person next to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Settlers had the view that Indigenous peoples were 'a dying race'

 

  • Assimilation/Stolen generation -  removing children of mixed Indigenous race from their families.

 

  • Taken away from their home and forced onto large reserves.

 

  • Conflict and violence between Indigenous peoples and white Australians in several parts of the country.

 

  • Planned massacres and incidences of resistance and retaliation resulting in many deaths.

 

  • High rates of suicide and depression

 

  • Unfair working conditions - 16hrs per day

 

  • Returned from war to racist attitudes, not allowed to march

 

 

 

 

 

 

What were some common opinions about Indigenous people during the 1920's and 1930's? (pair/share)

 

 

 

 

 

- alcoholics

- aggressive towards non-Indigenous

- lazy

- Bad parents

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROUP RESEARCH TASK

 

  1. Working in groups of 3

  2. Research information about your given topic

  3. Create a small PowerPoint

  4. Present to class so we can get a better understanding the historical context of the play

 

 

The Moore River Settlement

The Stolen Generation

Nyoongah Heritage

Aboriginal Lands Trust WA

The Oombulgarri Massacre

A. O. Neville

The 1905 Aborigines Act

 

 

 

 

Jack Davis

 

  • 1917-2000

  • Born in Perth

  • Aboriginal and Irish heritage

  • Freemantle-based poet and playwright

  • Prominent advocate for Aboriginal rights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. What is the main subject of the poem?

  2. What observations can you make about the language used in the poem?

  3. Can you connect the poem to any contextual information you might know?

 

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