Book review: Double Native

I AM being honest, not racist, in saying that many people I've met would dismiss Double Native, although it is written by a prize-winning author.

I AM being honest, not racist, in saying that many people I've met would dismiss Double Native, although it is written by a prize-winning author, thinking that it is just another indigenous autobiography. What an enriching experience they would miss.

Fiona Wirrer-George Oochunyung was born on Thursday Island in 1969 to an Aboriginal mother, raised in Weipa and Aurukun by her beloved Nan and surrounded by family. Her childhood presents like a parallel universe to city folk. While she hunted jabiru and wallabies, white folk dined on prawn cocktails and steak.

At 16, she joined the Aboriginal and Islander Dance Theatre in Sydney. At 21 she married charismatic student Danny Doyle. Dance, choreography, acting and writing are in her blood. She has balanced it all with motherhood, professional travel, acquiring teaching qualifications and overcoming two serious bouts of illness, a very modern woman, blessed with a supportive family.

Aged 28, she tracked down her Austrian father. His wife and stepchildren rejected her. Wirrer-George Oochunyung gives frank insights into these experiences in a no-nonsense voice. She makes her book accessible to regular readers while capturing indigenous idiom.

Her Christianity and, even more, her spirituality and sense of the supernatural challenge the white man's world view.

Double Native
Fiona Wirrer-George Oochunyung
UQP, $34.95