Oh, Golly! I’m not racist and nor are these toys: Aboriginal store owner

A Tasmanian store owner thrust into the latest golliwog ‘outrage’ has revealed he is Aboriginal and feels insulted by suggestions of racism made on social media.

Clarence City Council alderman Brendan Blomeley’s Facebook post.

A Tasmanian store owner thrust into the latest golliwog “outrage” has revealed he is Aboriginal and feels insulted by suggestions of ­racism made on social media.

A display of golliwogs in the window of Bill and Rachel Casey’s The Woodcraft Shop, in the historic town of Richmond, northeast of Hobart, inadvertently sparked controversy across social and traditional news media outlets on Monday.

Local Clarence City alderman Brendan Blomeley posted a photograph of the display and opined how “wonderful” it was to see that some of the black-faced soft toys had survived the “PC brigade”.

Local ABC Radio took issue, questioning Clarence mayor Doug Chipman, who quickly made it clear Mr Blomeley was not speaking for the council.

Left wing politicians took to social media to lambast Mr Blomeley, a former Liberal staffer who promptly fired back against “cancel culture”, while also ­apologising to anyone who was “genuinely” offended.

Clarence City Council alderman Brendan Blomeley. Picture: Zak Simmonds

In the middle of it all, Bill and Rachel Casey started to fear ­repercussions, while Mr Casey said he felt the barbs personally.

“I’m a local Aboriginal man and I think it’s getting a bit weird that people are turning something that has been around a long time into something sinister and evil,” Mr Casey said.

“I’ve worked in Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley and in terms of being racist, I’d find that hard, when I’ve got a mix of descendancy. My (Tasmanian Aboriginal) lot were stabbed, raped, poisoned and slaughtered.

“I stock a lot of Aboriginal art and craft directly from the communities in the Kimberley and Central Australia. It’s ironic that as someone of Aboriginal heritage I (am) only (meant to) sell white dolls.”

Mr Blomeley followed up his original Facebook post with several more, including one tracing the origin of golliwogs to Egypt in the late 19th century.

Former Braddon MP Justine Keay. Picture: Grant Wells

This suggested the term stemmed from the WOGS arm bands worn by labourers, known to the Brits as “Ghuls”, to signify they were “working on government service”.

The post suggests dolls used by the Ghuls’ children were taken home by British soldiers and became known as Ghuliwogs and later golliwogs.

However, some feel the dolls are racially demeaning and outdated. Former Labor MP Justine Keay tweeted, of Mr Blomeley: “He clearly confuses political correctness with cultural sensitivities & blatant racism & I question his involvement as a community leader in multiculturalism.”

ABC Radio producer and co-creator of The Pin, “a website about race, identity and culture in Australia”, Lucille Cutting, tweeted: “It’s a big NOPE from me; working in multicultural orgs or as an ambassador is not a prop for your golliwog dolls.”