Hi there, my audiobook “If I Survive” is finally out. It is a fitting tribute to the courageous and inspiring life of Holocaust survivor Lena Goldstein. I have 10 free copies for the first 10 people who contact me for a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
It is not on Amazon yet but is at the following stores:
Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu lay wreaths at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Be’er-Sheva Israel 31 Oct 2-17
Norman and Barbara Miller laying a wreath there also with William Cooper’s grandson Uncle Boydie (Alf Turner) and Abe Schwarz behind us ready to lay a wreath on behalf of Indigenous servicemen.
Reenactment of Australian Light horse charge at the Centenary of the Battle of Be’er-Sheva 31 Oct 2017. I was privileged to be there leading an international tour group of 50 with my husband Norman Miller.
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ABOUT THE STORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN LIGHT HORSE AND ANZAC ROLE AT BE’ER-SHEVA AND BUY DVDS OF THEIR COURAGEOUS CHARGE RIGHT INTO TURKISH CANONS OVER AN OPEN FIELD WITH GERMAN PLANES FIRING AT THEM. THEY RODE INTO HISTORY AND TURNED THE TIDE OF HISTORY LEADING TO THE END OF 400 YEARS OF OTTOMAN RULE OF THE HOLY LAND.
This book is a bestseller in 3 categories – Philosophy Reference, Religious Studies – Sociology and Education Workbooks.
“Success Code” is an anthology and I am a co-author. Do you ever wonder why some people always seem to succeed, and others fail? Most “overnight” successes have been developed with small changes in daily habits and mindset tweaks, one day at a time.
My chapter is entitled “The Power of Visionâ The link which is
We asked over 20 experts to describe these habits for us, and the result was âThe Success Code.â The book is a life lesson of habits, mindsets and stories of how they have been used to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
Shattered Lives Broken Dreams Anniversary of Kristallnacht 9-10 Nov coming up 10th Anniversaryin Dec 2020 of Yad Vashem inaugurating a Chair of Resistance to the Holocaust after William Cooper
The Nazis shatter glass and shatter the lives of European Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. An Australian Aboriginal, William Cooper, leads the campaign for civil rights for his people who are dying of poverty and mistreatment around him. 1938; two worlds, far apart. Cut to the core after Kristallnacht, can he do anything to stop it?
Described as Australiaâs Martin Luther King, Cooper leads the Australian Aboriginesâ League on a protest to the German Consulate in Melbourne. Would the Third Reich pour out its wrath on them? Would they make a difference?
A Chair of Resistance to the Holocaust was named in honour of Cooper at Yad Vashem. His grandson, Alf Turner, becomes passionate about fulfilling his grandfatherâs unfinished business and taking the protest to Berlin itself. How will he be received? Launched in Feb 2020, the ebook now has a new cover. https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Lives-Broken-Dreams-Australian-ebook/dp/B084Q4SSTX/
We timed our visit to Israel so that we would be in Beâer-Sheva for the 93rd anniversary of the famous charge of the Australian Light horse on October 31, 1917 and the ceremonies being held that day. We travelled to most of the other battle sites where the ANZACS fought as well.
Norman & Barbara Miller at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery after wreaths laid by our group along with a poppy wreath donated by the Cairns RSL
Australians at Park of the Australian Soldier, Beâer- Sheva, donated by Pratt Foundation, Australia. We laid wreaths there also.
For those who havenât heard the story before, Iâll briefly say that the taking of the wells of Beâer-Sheva (Beersheba) was critical for Allied victory in Palestine. The British had fought all day, the NZ Mounted Rifles and an Australian regiment took the high place of Tel es Sabe after heavy fighting. Still, all would have been lost had it not been for a daring charge by the Australian Light horsemen (about 800 of them) charging straight into the Turkish guns.
They were regarded as the crazy Australians to charge over an open area to the Turks who were in trenches in fortified positions. German planes were firing on them. The horses had not had water for days and if the Allied forces did not take the wells of Beâer-Sheva by nightfall, all would be lost. The horses smelled the water and galloped ahead at a furious pace. The men were not cavalry but mounted infantry and the daring charge just before nightfall took the Turks by surprise. They didnât adjust the sights on their guns quickly enough. Some Australians fought hand to hand in the trenches and others jumped the trenches and rode into the city to stop the Germans blowing up the wells. While the charge brought the breakthrough, the charge could not have happened without the British fighting all day and the New Zealanders taking the high ground, preventing them from being mowed down.
This happened on Oct 31, 1917. On the same day, the British Parliament passed the Balfour Declaration in favour of the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The political will and the military victory went hand in hand. After fighting in other towns, Gen Allenby was able to walk into Jerusalem with his forces and accept the surrender of the Turks, thus ending 400 years of the Ottoman Empire, and nearly 1200 years of almost uninterrupted Islamic rule of Jerusalem. There had always been a Jewish presence in Jerusalem and Palestine however and Jewish forces fought alongside the British to free their land.
This was a precursor to the formation of the modern state of Israel in 1948 and again, ANZACS played a critical role in the defence of Israel, then Palestine.
So, as we prepared to go to Beâer-Sheva for the Oct 31 service, we approached a number of organisations in Australia to let them know we were going and the Cairns RSL donated us 4 red poppy wreaths, one of which we laid at the Park of the Australian Soldier, Beâer-Sheva and one at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. We laid one at the Commonwealth Cemetery at Mt Scopus in Jerusalem and one at the NZ monument in Ness Ziona. We also laid wreaths of fresh flowers at all three ceremonies in Beâer-Sheva, including the one at the Turkish memorial. We approached the Turkish embassy before leaving Australia for permission to do this. We did it in a spirit of reconciliation.
The New Zealand team brought with them pillows with poppies sewn into them to lay as wreaths at each place noted above because the NZ soldiers didnât have pillows according to Lila Diprose who made the pillows. They also brought loose poppies to strew.
Norman is wearing a Torres Strait Islander flag at the ceremony as he gave the Aboriginal flag to Richard Evans to wear and he wanted the other Indigenous group in Australia to be represented. Kris Schlyder, an ex-army man with our team laid the wreath at the Park of the Australian Soldier with Liz Wright and Joanna Moss.
We went to three commemoration ceremonies – the Park of the Australian Soldier, the British Cemetery and the Turkish ceremony where we laid wreaths at all three – Australia, New Zealand and Britain together. It was a moving time for all of us and there was time for the team to pray at the cemetery the next day when Norman and I met with the Municipality of Beâer- Sheva.
On Oct 31, we had organised for the Vice Chairman of the Society of the Heritage of World War I, Mr Ezra Pimentel to be our guide and he was very informative. As well as going to the ceremonies, we went to Tel es Saba where the NZ Mounted Rifles and some Australians took the high place, Abraham’s well and Chauvel’s Hill from where he watched the 800 Australian Light horsemen ride into history with their famous charge. We also saw the Warriors Club where a local ex IDF serviceman has built a museum in his backyard with much war memorabilia.
While in Beâer-Sheva, we visited HaMaKom or Bible House where local Messianic congregations have a library, meeting place and coffee shop. Ps Howard and Randi Bass are very involved there and Randi had prepared a wonderful display re the Australian Light horse and NZ Mounted Rifles. It is becoming an ANZAC Museum and deserves support from Australians and New Zealanders. They also gave us refreshments.
Norman and I and our team hosted Howard and Randi Bass from Beâer-Sheva in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra) and, with Sue Rowe, in New Zealand (Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga) in July 2010 in preparation for our ANZAC tour of Israel.
We followed the steps of the Australian Light horsemen and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles as they fought in Gaza, Be’er-Sheva, Ashkelon, Armageddon, Semakh, Ayun Kara near Rishon Le Zion, Yafo near Tel Aviv, Jericho, Hebron and Jerusalem.
We arrived in the dark at Semakh which was amazing as the battle was fought in the dark although early morning and we were there in the evening. It is near the Sea of Galilee and was captured 25 Sept 1918 by the 11th and 12th Australian Light horse who charged a heavily fortified Turkish railway station. Indigenous light horsemen were involved too. The charge was not as big as the charge at Beersheba but just as dangerous and daring. They were mostly Queenslanders and some from South Australia. This ended Turkish and German opposition around the Sea of Galilee. Recently, a statue has been erected to the Australian Indigenous Light horseman and his horse, a worthy commemoration.
We went to Mt Carmel and Megiddo, the Allied forces capturing it on 19 Sept 1918, with Australian General Chauvel calling it the Battle of Armageddon. British General Allenby was made Vicount of Megiddo or Lord of Armageddon.
On Friday, Nov 5, we visited Rishon Le Zion which is built on top of Ayun Kara where, outnumbered 8 to 1, the NZ Mounted Rifles won a hard-fought victory. We visited the graves of the 50 Kiwis who died in that battle buried at Ramleh. We laid wreaths at the statue to the NZ Mounted Rifles at Ben Gurion School in Ness Ziona. This statue was only built in 2010 with the opening on March 1.
This account is only a quick summary of one aspect, though an important one of our tour i.e. our journey in the steps of the ANZACS and Light horse.
Joanna Moss, NZ, Liz Wright, Britain & Barbara Miller, Australia after laying a wreath together at the Turkish memorial
Ceremony at 93rd anniversary Beâer-Sheva
175 Aussies & 31 Kiwis buried at Beâer-Sheva
HaMaKom or Bible House ANZAC Display made by Randi Bass, Beâer-Sheva for Oct 31
The light horsemen riding past the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery 100th anniversary
PM Benjamin Netanyahu speech 31 Oct 2017 at centenary
Hi there, I haven’t sent out an update since February. Wow! how time flies and I trust you are all well and coping with the Covid-19 lockdowns. I have been busy. Among other things, I have written 3 journals – My Prayer Journal, My Bible Study Journal and My Sermon Notes Journal. At the moment, these are best ordered from Amazon though you can order them in a pdf file from my website and print them yourself.
I have a chapter each in 2 books and put a new cover on my “Shattered Lives Broken Dreams” book. I have also turned the book “If I Survive” into an audiobook which will be available soon.
My Prayer Journal
This is an inspirational Christian prayer journal that would make a wonderful keepsake and assist with your spiritual growth and development. It has a beautiful floral cover with prayer hands and has prompts for prayer requests, answered prayers, insights and Bible verses. It will enrich and draw you into your prayer time. Ask the Father questions and record His answers. Write answers to prayer so you will be encouraged at His goodness. Press into the heart of the Father and be blessed. Hear His heartbeat! The link is
The Canberra Declaration released on 22 July a book called “The Blessings of Almighty God: the Canberra Declaration Story and the Call to Revitalise Australia.” I have written a chapter, with Norman, called “Canberra Declaration: the birth of a new push to protect our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
Norman and I helped launch the Canberra Declaration at a conference we hosted at Parliament House Canberra on 23 July 2010 so the book was launched for the 10th anniversary. Those who wrote chapters were asked to write some personal stories of how we got involved with the Canberra Declaration and our journey. The book is available from https://canberradeclaration.org.au/ and there is also information on my website here https://barbara-miller-books.com/the-blessing-of-almighty-god-book/
My Bible Study Journal
Journaling our Bible study helps us unearth its riches and take hold of God’s promises which can give us victory when we face life’s challenges.
The Bible is truly a light to our path and recording our study of it gives us invaluable guidance. The prompts include scripture, the message of the day, how to apply it and prayer and thanks. It is perfect for Bible Study Groups or personal use. The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/0648472299
My Sermon Notes Journal
In these days of faith services by zoom etc, this is a journal to record and reflect on the sermons or online messages you hear. It will enable you to remember, digest and apply pearls of wisdom that can change your life forever. It is an Inspiring, comforting and uplifting way of personal and spiritual growth. You make the pearls of wisdom from another’ s study and life experience uniquely your own by engaging with the material. The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/0648472272
The Success Code
“Success Code” is an anthology and I am a co-author. Do you ever wonder why some people always seem to succeed, and others fail? Most “overnight” successes have been developed with small changes in daily habits and mindset tweaks, one day at a time.
We asked over 20 experts to describe these habits for us, and the result was âThe Success Code.â The book is a life lesson of habits, mindsets and stories of how they have been used to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
My chapter is entitled “The Power of Visionâ and covers how my team and I successfully organised the Bethany Gate All Pacific Prayer Assembly conference in Cairns, Australia. It is on pre-order and at a special price of 99c so don’t miss out on the special price. The book launches as an ebook on 4 August. The link which is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CKD5GR8/
Shattered Lives Broken Dreams
The Nazis shatter glass and shatter the lives of European Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. An Australian Aboriginal, William Cooper, leads the campaign for civil rights for his people who are dying of poverty and mistreatment around him. 1938; two worlds, far apart. Cut to the core after Kristallnacht, can he do anything to stop it?
Described as Australiaâs Martin Luther King, Cooper leads the Australian Aboriginesâ League on a protest to the German Consulate in Melbourne. Would the Third Reich pour out its wrath on them? Would they make a difference?
A Chair of Resistance to the Holocaust was named in honour of Cooper at Yad Vashem. His grandson, Alf Turner, becomes passionate about fulfilling his grandfatherâs unfinished business and taking the protest to Berlin itself. How will he be received? Launched in Feb 2020, the ebook now has a new cover. https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Lives-Broken-Dreams-Australian-ebook/dp/B084Q4SSTX/
Don’t miss out! I am launching my book Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust on Amazon with a free promotion on Sunday, 16 February, 2020, 12:00 AM, PST or 7pm Sydney time. Please download it while it’s free, write a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads and share about it on social media. The link to the book on Amazon is – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q4SSTX/
Munganbana Norman Miller presenting a painting he did of William Cooper which he presented to Aviva Wolff on behalf of the Sydney Jewish Museum when I launched 2 books on William Cooper there recently. This canvas painting is called “The Gathering” and was used for the cover of my 2012 book on William Cooper which David Jack designed.
A photo of me dropping my books off to the Cairns Library as requested. I have donated copies to the Sydney Jewish Museum, the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne and will also donate copies to the Lamm Library in Melbourne and Yad Vashem in Israel.
Hi! An opportunity exists for you to get a free ebook in exchange for writing a few lines about it as a review I can post on Amazon. To qualify to put a review on Amazon, you need to have spent $50 buying books off Amazon in the last 12 months. Do you qualify and are you interested? Contact me to get your copy.
The paperback version of the book was launched to a large group at the Sydney Jewish Museum on 2.2.20 and was well received.
This is one of those rare holocaust stories of resistance to the holocaust by Australian Aborigines – a world away from the fray. They were not even citizens in their own land but, after Kristallnacht, made a brave stand. William Cooper led the Australian Aboriginesâ League in a protest against Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, recognised as the start of the Holocaust. They protested the “cruel persecution of the Jews” by marching to the German Consulate in Melbourne on 6 December 1938 three weeks after the 9-10 November pogrom in Germany, Austria and Sudetenland that saw 91 Jews killed, Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues destroyed with shattered glass or fire. About 30,00 Jews were sent to concentration camps.
This book follows how the story was lost to history and then found with William Cooper being honoured in many ways by Jews in Australia and at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center in Israel. His family has carried on his legacy and the story covers his family’s trip to Israel and Berlin in 2017 to continue his work. Of holocaust books, it has a twist. Aboriginal William Cooper was a noted civil rights leader for his people but the only protest march he led was for the Jews. Read this inspiriting story.
Aviva Wolff, MC, Josie Lacey who introduced Barbara, Barbara and Rob Schneider who launched the book.
Family of William Cooper and their Jewish friends
Audience
Norman donating his painting of William Cooper to the Museum
Abe Schwarz introducing Di O’Brien, Cooper descendent
William Cooper led the Australian Aboriginesâ League in a protest against Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, recognised as the start of the Holocaust. They protested the “cruel persecution of the Jews” by marching to the German Consulate in Melbourne on 6 December 1938 three weeks after the 9-10 November pogrom in Germany, Austria and Sudetenland that saw 91 Jews killed, Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues destroyed with shattered glass or fire. About 30,00 Jews were sent to concentration camps.
This book follows how the story was lost to history and then found with William Cooper being honoured in many ways by Jews in Australia and at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center in Israel. His family has carried on his legacy and the story covers his family’s trip to Israel and Berlin in 2017 to continue his work. William Cooper was an Aboriginal man of the Yorta Yorta Nation and did ground-breaking work for the “uplift”, as he called it, of his people but the only protest march he led was for the Jews and this was while he was not a citizen of his own land and could not vote. It is truly an inspiriting story.
Photo – Outside the 1938 site of the German Consulate Melbourne where William Cooper and the Australian Aborigines’ League protested Kristallnacht. This 2012 photo shows the historic re-enactment with the Hon German Consul this time receiving the letter of protest. Book Launch Sydney Jewish Museum 2.30 pm 2 February 2020 of Shattered Lives Broken Dreams and White Australia Has A Black History – William Cooper Gentle Warrior Series No 2 and No 1 respectively. You need to book – 61 2 93607999 https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/shop/events/talk/book-launch-white-australia-has-a-black-history-by-barbara-miller/
Click to view on Amazon
White Australia Has A Black History is available as a paperback from my website and I would love you to review it on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
Shattered Lives Broken Dreams has not yet gone to the printer and is not yet available on Amazon.
Barbara giving a talk on William Cooper at an Author Event at Lamm Jewish Library in Melbourne 3 Dec 19
Rabbi Gabi Kaltman, ARK Centre held an Indigenous themed Shabbat service and meal honouring William Cooper 6 Dec
David Jack interviewing Barbara on J-Air (Jewish Radio) in Melbourne on 4 Dec 19 with Maurice Klein working the desk. The topic was Kristallnacht and William Cooper. It was on the Beersheba Vision program run by Peter Kentley. Use this link to listen to the interview
The Richmond Football Club Melbourne and the William Cooper Legacy Project convened by Abe Schwarz hosted a seminar and dinner on 5 Dec 19. It announced a new William Cooper Centre which will integrate sport, culture and diversity as the home to the Korin Gamadji Institute emerging Indigenous leaders program, the Bachar Houli Academy, Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) and womenâs and community football.
There were four speakers at the seminar â Barbara Miller, biographer of William Cooper, Mike Zervos CEO Courage to Care, a teacher from Parkdale College called Natalie Baker and Eli Rabinowitz, founder, the WE ARE HERE Project. Nola Kelly, the great-granddaughter of William Cooper, Leonie Drummond, Uncle Boydieâs daughter, shared briefly. Barbara is pictured speaking. A mural of the Tigers AFL players on the wall.
Cooper family at Richmond Football Club
The Hon Minister Ken Wyatt with Barbara and Norman Miller at Monash University
The Unveiling of the plaque at Monash Uni with Uni staff and Cooper family and the Minister
The Millers with Dr John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel.
On 6 Dec 19, the 81st anniversary of the 1938 AAL protest, Monash University launched the William Cooper Institute. The Gandel family’s philanthropy made the centre possible. Stirring speeches were made by the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Mr Ken Wyatt, Chancellor Simon McKeon, the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Jacinta Elston, Dr John Gandel AC, and Leonie Drummond, Uncle Boydieâs daughter.
Minister Ken Wyatt said that William Cooper cut a pathway for people to follow and showed bravery in the face of opposition. He said William Cooper stepped out and left footsteps in the sand to follow. He said he had recently returned from Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech, had paid tribute to William Cooper.
Uncle Boydie watching the orchestra of the Kristallnacht Cantata
The Yeng Gali Mullum Indigenous Choir
The Kristallnacht Cantata: A Voice of Courage held its world premiere on 8 December at Temple Beth Israel St. Kilda, Melbourne. The strident music of the orchestra conveyed the build-up to the Night of the Broken Glass and the shattering of glass and lives that took place. A tribute to William Cooper, the Cantata imagined a moving duet between Cooper and Otto Jontof-Hutter who was arrested in Stuttgart during Kristallnacht along with thousands of other Jews.
Ottoâs grandson, world-famous violinist Ron Jontof-Hutter, active in the Berlin-based World Doctors Orchestra but living in Melbourne, conceived the Cantata. An Israeli composer living in Melbourne, Alon Trigger, collaborated with Ron as the lyricist and world-famous conductor Dr David Kram, as musical director, to put the Cantata together.
The event was held in Temple Beth Israel synagogue and Barbara was asked to read a scripture and she chose Isaiah 62:1-7. There was a beautiful performance by the Yeng Gali Mullum Indigenous Choir.
Author Barbara Miller is giving a talk at the LAMM Jewish Library of Australia in the first week of December. Come and hear her speak on her William Cooper books and the Holocaust.
Where: Lamm Jewish Library of Australia: 304 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield South, Victoria When: 7:30pm, Tuesday 3rd December Bookings: 92725611 Event Flier:
Barbara will have a give-away of chapter one with a cover photo of her soon coming book ‘Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust‘
If you can get there, go to the wonderfully creative Kristallnacht Cantata in Melbourne on 8 Dec where you will hear world-class musicians and singers and hear an imagined duet between Aboriginal William Cooper and Kristallnacht survivor Otto Jontof-Hutter. If you can’t make it, consider donating to this worthy cause. Anything above the production costs will go to the Aboriginal group Mullum Mullum Gathering Place -they need repairs to their building- and also accommodation for the homeless. The Mullum Mullum Yeng Gali Choir will be singing in the first half-and invited Otto’s grandson Ron to play Amazing Grace with them. The link to donate is https://australianculturalfund.org.au/projects/kristallnacht-cantata/
Barbara will also have a give-away of chapter one with a cover photo of her soon coming book Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust.
A successful book launch was held in Cairns with a stimulating PowerPoint delivery by the author, live entertainment, a diverse audience, lively discussion, enjoyable food and the moving song “Yorta Yorta Man” by Jimmy Little to entertain us. William Cooper was a Yorta Yorta man as were many others in the book.
This Is not your typical Australian History book or biography. Behind the dominant story is the black history of white Australia as seen through the eyes and life of William Cooper and other First Nations People.
Let me Introduce you to William Cooper, a pioneer of the Aboriginal movement for basic human rights who shaped Australiaâs political activism.
How much do you really know about William Cooper? He was a leader in political activism for basic human rights who stood up for Australian Aborigines. He also led Aborigines in a protest march to the German…
Barbara often found herself using the Aussie saying, âthe stork dropped me at the wrong house” only to find she was repeating her motherâs words. In this riveting historical memoir exploring race relations and social change, Aboriginal elder Burnum Burnum, told her, âyou may be white but you have a black heart, as you understand my people and feel our heart.” He suggested to IDA that she take on the Mapoon Aborigines project and she was pivotal to helping them move back to their land after they had been forced off to make way for mining.
Review
This is a highly engaging and inspiring memoir. At its centre is the story of Mapoon which has all the elements of a great drama with the violent expulsion of the community in 1963 and their triumphant return eleven years later. As the author explains she came almost by chance to be at the very centre of the drama which in turn dramatically changed her life. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in political and social change over the last 50 years.
Professor Henry Reynolds, FAHA FASSA University of Tasmania, eminent historian and award-winning author
âIf I Survive.â This thought haunted Lena. Her loved ones were cruelly forced from her arms in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland and perished in Treblinka Death Camp.
Review
This is a truly beautiful collaboration between the author and her subject, who have together produced an invaluable documentation of a unique, moving, life story set against the backdrop of one of the darkest moments in human history. To read “If I Survive” is to meet a remarkable person and to be touched by her intense humanity in an inhuman world.
Jeremy Jones AM, former President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and Director, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council
Did the deep north of Australia experience racism, discrimination and segregation? Yes. But it was different from the deep south of the USA. A system similar to South African apartheid existed on Aboriginal reserves like Yarrabah in Queensland till as recently as 1984. This book is unique in that Australian Aborigines themselves tell their story of living under legal discrimination on reserves and discusses their aspirations for self-determination, local government, human rights and land rights with a view to end racism.
Review
It is entirely appropriate that Barbara Miller is the one to write an update on Yarrabah’s efforts at self-determination and land rights, as she does not just stand on the sideline and cheer us on. She often jumps into the fray herself.
No doubt many people who were or still are involved in some degree in the push for Aboriginal social justice and human rights and all that that encompasses, plus interested persons, will be attracted to Barbara Miller’s latest case study. This book gives a succinct report of how things have turned out in the last thirty years.
… Her reporting skills and love for Aboriginal people are recognised by friend and foe alike, with her work being quoted by such bodies as the Human Rights Commission.
Rev Michael Connolly, Former Chairman of Yarrabah Aboriginal Council
Barbara with husband Norman at the Qld Literary Awards Brisbane Sept 2018 having been shortlisted for her memoir for the Qld Premiers Award for a Work of State Significance
J-Wire have just featured a story on Holocaust survivor, Lena Goldstein.
Pictured here is Lena beside Barbara, receiving the Order of Australia medal from then Governor of NSW
Lena is the subject of Barbara Miller’s latest book, “If I Survive” – and recently celebrated her 100th Birthday on 31/1/2019, in Sydney Australia. The article talks about here amazing courage to fight back against the evil Nazi rule and her ability to keep and share a sense of humour during the darkest of days:
“…Following her escape from the ghetto in 1943, Lena was hidden by a Polish caretaker for 18 months. Later, her hiding spot was an underground bunker, cramped together with eight others. Lena set to writing a satirical newsletter for her companions in the bunker, âjust to put some humour into the tragic life that we were living in the bunker.â Lenaâs outward humour during this time was masking her actual anxieties. Lenaâs satirical âBunker Weeklyâ and her personal diary entries from this time are now held in the Sydney Jewish Museumâs collection for safekeeping…”
