Book News

Newsletter Sept 2022

Hi all you wonderful readers – I hope that even if you are busy, you are able to have a little time out to read to refresh you and stimulate you. If you have a favourite book, please tell me about it. Also, what book would you recommend to readers?

NEW WRITING PROJECT FOR SCHOOLS & ADULTS ON THE HOLOCAUST


Holocaust education is important when there is so much Holocaust denial and distortion out there. Also, this study looks at the causes of antisemitism and what we can do about it. It is suitable for upper primary school and adults and I hope it will be used overseas as well as in Australia. Negotiations of course need to be held with curriculum developers. More information coming out soon.

BELOW COST SALE
WILLIAM COOPER GENTLE WARRIOR

Slashed from $29.95 to $7ea for September only.
Sales of 10 or more copies, the low price of $5 each
$12 Shipping for 1 copy. $2 extra for each additional copy. 
Email me for direct sales here

william cooper book insert flier

the big boomerang next big thing

THE BIG BOOMERANG – THE NEXT BIG THING!


Munganbana Norman says – I have a dream of having a Big Boomerang icon for Cairns. To get some community support and publicity, I made a very big boomerang and put it on a float in the Cairns Festival Parade last weekend. Recently, it got some coverage in The Cairns Post and ABC radio Cairns will cover it soon. I hope that this project will get the support of Cairns, especially as it would be the only big icon in Australia expressing Aboriginal heritage.

It has been on my heart since 2017 to have a Big Boomerang icon for Cairns as then I wanted to get a Big Boomerang beside the Capt Cook statue as an act of reconciliation and to showcase our Indigenous heritage. However, the owner was not interested. Recently, James Cook University bought the site on which the statue stood and sold the statue to someone in a nearby town. It was not removed because of cancel culture. Now the Capt Cook statue, which was in the list of Australia’s big icons, has been removed from Cairns, it is important, as a tourist city, that we get another big icon.

So my boomerang is the next big thing. It is 5.5m wide and about 3m high. Either this boomerang or one the city comes together to build, could be it. It is housed in my Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery in 33 Lake St Cairns since the Cairns Festival Parade. It is important because in all the big icons around the nation, none represents Aboriginal heritage. Indigenous tourism is a big draw card for Far North Qld.

I am hoping that the people of Cairns, the council, the Qld and federal governments, businesses, and of course our First Nations People will be excited and get behind this project. I have the support of traditional owners. We need to get a committee together to work on this project of the Next Big Thing or the Big Boomerang as the big icon for Cairns.

Many Australian towns have big icons – https://www.australianexplorer.com/australian_big_icons.htm – the Big Gumboot, the Big Pineapple, the Big Banana, the Big Prawn etc. Now we need the Big Boomerang. I think it will showcase Cairns and draw visitors to our wonderful city. We need cultural tourism and we need tourists to COME BACK to our tourist paradise.

WATCH THIS SPACE AS A BOOK ABOUT MUNGANBANA’S JOURNEY WITH BOOMERANGS WILL COME OUT IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS OR SO!!

IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN AUSTRALIA DAY AND NATIONAL ABORIGINES AND ISLANDERS WEEK (NAIDOC)?

NEW OUTLET

Some of my books are now available in the beautiful Blue Mountains amongst an amazing collection of books by Indigenous writers, including children’s books. The Wiradjuri nation have an outlet in Leura and stock beautiful art as well as literature. See – https://bilingarra.com.au/collections/books-1?page=2

REEF AND RAINFOREST: AN ABORIGINAL VOICE THROUGH ART AND STORY
Now recognised among the foremost talents of this region’s outstanding Indigenous artists, Munganbana’s “Reef and Rainforest: An Aboriginal Voice Through Art and Story” is representative of the body of visual art, in a variety of media and styles, created over a period of twenty-five years.
Henrietta Marrie, Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Elder and Traditional Owner of Gimuy-Cairns
LEARN MORE

BELOW COST SALE
WILLIAM COOPER GENTLE WARRIOR

Slashed from $29.95 to $7ea for September only.
Sales of 10 or more copies, the low price of $5 each
$12 Shipping for 1 copy. $2 extra for each additional copy. 
Email me for direct sales here

If I Survive: Nazi Germany and the Jews,100-Year-Old Lena Goldstein’s Miracle Story is available here

Re White Australia Has A Black History 
Read about up-to-date information on William Cooper and the people he mentored and how they changed Australian history

Re 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?
FIND IT HERE

BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE

We Pay Tribute to Archie Roach Who Passed Away Recently and Left His Mark on the Hearts of Australians

Title of Book – Tell Me Why Review from Amazon

‘Archie’s deeply resonant voice sings out – of a broken country and a life renewed. The voice of Australia.’ — Daniel Browning, ABC journalist and producer

‘Just like his early songs, Tell Me Why was written with empathy as its impetus and that intent shines through on every page. This is a phenomenal work by one of the most articulate and recognisable members of the Stolen Generations. It will be read, studied and discussed for many years to come.’ ― The Australian

‘Beautiful, gut-wrenching and compelling memoir’ ― Sydney Morning Herald

‘Roach is honest and humble in his oft-heartbreaking retelling of his search for identity, belonging and purpose’  ― Courier Mail

‘Best book of 2019: Tell Me Why by Archie Roach, a beautifully written autobiography that captures one of the most remarkable lives in Australian music’ ― Weekend Australian

‘Tell Me Why is an extraordinary odyssey and offering. Archie has come through snares, pits and suffering to bring us an inspiring tale of survival, grace and generosity. This book should be in every school.’  — Paul Kelly –This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Archie Roach AM, a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung man, was born in Victoria in 1956. Taken at the age of two from parents he never saw again, he was placed into foster care. He started writing songs after meeting his soulmate Ruby Hunter when they were both homeless teenagers. His heartbreaking signature song, ‘Took the Children Away’, from his 1990 ARIA award-winning debut album Charcoal Lane, has become an anthem for the Stolen Generations. The song was the first to win an Australian Human Rights Award and the album was featured in US Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 50 in 1992, won two ARIA awards and went gold in Australia. Archie’s recording history includes twelve albums, soundtracks, film and theatrical scores and his books include the award-winning memoir Tell Me Why, accompanied by a companion album, and the picture book Took the Children Away, illustrated by Ruby Hunter. 

Learn More
 

White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, a Memoir

Oppressed Aborigines forced off their land at gunpoint. Over a decade later, one passionate young woman would take up their fight…

 

AVAILABLE HERE

Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal History, A Memoir (First Nations True Stories)

Barbara Russell, a young woman from a white working-class family. A ruthless Premier Bjelke-Petersen enforcing legal discrimination. How could Barbara stand by and watch the feud of the people with governments and miners strip Australian Aboriginal communities of all they held dear? But what could she do to make a difference?

CHECK IT OUT

best seller amazonMy book Secrets and Lies is often no 1 best seller on Amazon Australia as an ebook in Discrimination Constitutional Law, Public Law and Civil Law – 3 categories. 

Newsletter Sept 2021

Hi all you wonderful readers – I’m blessed to be living in Cairns in the Sunshine state of Queensland and we have only had 3 days of lockdown due to Covid-19 this year, faring much better than crowded cities like Sydney and Melbourne coping with the Delta strain.

In fact, except for the QR code requirement at venues, life has not changed much in Cairns since Covid-19 struck. My best wishes go out to all of you who have had your lives curtailed by many restrictions. A big hug to all of you who have been doing it tough. I only hope that during this time, you’ve been able to use it creatively to try out new things and to catch up on things you didn’t have time to do before. Maybe you even have more time to read books. Anyway, there is light at the end of the tunnel, so all the best.

Below are 2 photos taken by Norman of the Cairns Esplanade at night. Maybe we should be called a City of Lights.

During NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Week), I was interviewed about my new book Secrets and Lies

by Trevour Timms of Bummera Bippera Indigenous radio in Cairns
for National Indigenous Radio.
Here is the short but lively interview:

Mp3 format

High Maximum quality (WAV) file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s9j-9RqC5l3NPsI3ORLXd-vbDWSmrW5d/view

SPECIAL PROMOTION

FREE EBOOK – White Woman Black Heart from 14-18 Sept on amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CCMV6CP
Oppressed Aborigines forced off their land at gunpoint. Over a decade later, one passionate young woman would take up their fight. Melbourne, 1970’s. Twenty-three-year-old university student Barbara Miller always stood her ground, even when it made her an outcast in her own family. So when she became a radical Christian advocate for social change, she didn’t think twice about joining the movement for Aboriginal justice. Boldly relocating to tropical Cape York and linking up with a Black activist and mentor on the frontline, she plunged into a life-changing battle despite the State’s threat of legal prosecution.

14-18 Sept the following ebooks will be reduced to 99c on amazon.
The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6
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.

White Australia Has A Black History
https://www.amazon.com/dp/064847223X
Some say he was Australia’s Martin Luther King. William Cooper saw his Aboriginal people dying around him and decided black lives matter. Starvation and discrimination took their toll. He became passionate that they should have a voice in Australia’s federal parliament.

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams –
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q4SSTX
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?

BOOK OF THE MONTH

There were certainly plenty of good books to choose from. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku is not new but it is certainly acclaimed. It is the WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2021.

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested, and taken to a concentration camp.

Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom, and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.

Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

  • SHORTLISTED FOR THE ABA NIELSEN BOOK BOOKSELLERS’ CHOICE – ADULT NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021
  • SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2021
  • LONGLISTED FOR MATT RICHELL AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021 

Interview I did with ABC Radio Cairns for Reconciliation Week on my book Secrets and Lies

 

REVIEW FEATURE

Authors depend on reviews so I help other authors out with reviews when I can so I have decided to feature a few occasionally in case you’re interested. They are usually inexpensive and quick to read as ebooks on amazon.

Instead of the reviews this month, I have included an exciting opportunity for you with a feature called – BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE.
They are from other non fiction authors. Check it out now – https://storyoriginapp.com/to/RWP8CwX

 

Question- What is your favourite book and why in a few words? Or a book that impacted you as a child? Let me know: 

bmiller-books@bigpond.com 

One of the books that impacted me in childhood was Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an 1852 anti-slavery novel that had great impact in the US.

 

CAIRNS – CITY IN A RAINFOREST – PAINTING BY ABORIGINAL ARTIST MUNGANBANA. If you want to see more, go to www.munganbana.com.au

Newsletter August 2021

Hi all you wonderful readers – It was an effort to get this newsletter out because I am in my 11th day of being sick with a painful bacterial infection of my leg called cellulitis. After a couple of short stints in hospital and some home nursing from the hospital, I am slowly on the mend at home with antibiotics. I know some of you are in lockdown because of covid. Not an easy situation but I wish you all the best and hope you can take some time out to read.

Announcement My new book Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth About Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir, is available on Amazon for 2.99 US as an ebook. The print book will be available from my website for Australians or from Amazon worldwide. Here is the link – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095SDW3LY

I would love some reviews on Amazon please and for you to share about it on social media. IRealesedon 3 July, it has been no 1 best seller in a number of categories and no. 1 new release in a lot of categories – Civil Law, Public Law, Constitutional Law Discrimination, International Treaties, Sociology of Race Relations, Civil Rights, Australian and NZ History, Australian and Oceanian Politics, Study and Teaching and Education Reference.

I have done interviews with Cairns ABC, The Cairns Post where it was front page as well as inside, Torres Strait Islander Radio, Bumma Bippera Radio and National Indigenous Radio Service and Vision Christian Radio. Below are photos of me with my new book banner outside Munganbana Aboriginal Art Gallery and my article in The Cairns Post. Norman photocopied it with the QR code to my website

barbara miller banner shopfront

barbara miller frontpage paper

BOOK OF THE MONTH

God is Good for You: A Defence of Christianity in troubled times by Greg Sheridan, foreign editor of The Australian newspaper.

At a time of crisis for Christianity in the West, God is Good for You shows just why we need faith in our world.

The Judeo-Christian tradition has created and underpinned the moral and legal fabric of Western civilisation for more than 2000 years, yet now we’ve reached a point in both Australia and many parts of the West where Christianity has become a minority faith rather than the mainstream belief. It’s a situation that’s fraught both for Christians and our wider society, where the moral certainties that were the foundation of our institutions and laws are no longer held by the majority.

At this point of crisis for faith, God is Good for You shows us why Christianity is so vital for our personal and social well-being, and how modern Christians have never worked so hard to make the world a better place at a time when their faith has never been less valued. It carries a vital torch for Christianity in a way that’s closely argued, warmly human, good humoured yet passionate, and, above all, convincing.

Interview I did with Vision Christian Radio Australia

Vision radio Q and A

REVIEW FEATURE

Authors depend on reviews so I help other authors out with reviews when I can so I have decided to feature a few occasionally in case you’re interested. They are usually inexpensive and quick to read as ebooks on amazon.

Instead of the reviews this month, I have included an exciting opportunity for you with a feature called – BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE.
They are from other non fiction authors. Check it out now – https://storyoriginapp.com/to/RWP8CwX

Books on Yarrabah, Mapoon, William Cooper and de Quiros

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah– https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/ 
White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir– https://www.amazon.com/dp-B07CCMV6CP/
White Australia Has A Black History: William Cooper and First Nations Peoples’ Political Activism – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X1MYCDX/
William Cooper Gentle Warrior and The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita:Quiros Torres and Janszoon – www.barbara-miller-books.com

Be blessed and happy reading!

Newsletter July 2021

Announcement My new book Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth About Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir, is available for pre-order on Amazon for the special price of 99c US as an ebook. It will be launched on 3 July and will stay at 99c for a few more days. The print book will be available shortly after. Here is the link – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095SDW3LY

I would love some reviews on Amazon please and for you to share about it on social media. It has had a lot of pre-orders already and so has been no 1 new release in a lot of categories – Civil Law, Public Law, Constitutional Law Discrimination, International Treaties, Sociology of Race Relations, Civil Rights, Australian and NZ History, Australian and Oceanian Politics, Study and Teaching and Education Reference.

This review came in today from Self Publishing Review – This passionate and deeply researched book shines a light on what Aboriginal really means. The author’s unique style of gonzo journalism is fascinating, and illustrates the power of on-the-ground reporting. Despite it being a work of history, this story feels incredibly timely, given the ongoing political battles for First Nation rights in other parts of the globe. All told, Secrets and Lies is an eye-opening and fearless reflection on a vital topic.

Norman made a large hand for me to promote my book and I am standing with it in his art gallery.

BOOK OF THE MONTH

This recent book by NSW Senator Andrew Bragg may be a gamechanger for Liberal party attitudes to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the possibility of the enshrinement of an Indigenous Voice in the Australian constitution. Here is and excerpt from his speech to the Sydney Institue.

Buraadja: The liberal case for national reconciliation
by Andrew Bragg

The title of this book is “tomorrow” in the Dhurga language of the Yuin people – Buraadja is about the type of country we want to be tomorrow.

The question is, why write a book on the history of liberalism and Indigenous affairs?

The answer is that the issues facing Indigenous people are serious and often intractable and there is a question mark over the nation whilstever we live with “the gap”.

I believe “the gap” is the modern consequence of the “Great Australian Silence” coined to describe the nation’s blind spot on Indigenous matters by anthropologist Bill Stanner in 1968.

As I said in my First Speech to the Senate, it is the nation’s unfinished business.

Put simply, Australia is a great country but it has not generally been a great country for Indigenous people.

What I wanted to do tonight was set out the key liberal arguments for delivering on the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Before I do that, I must acknowledge the support of my colleagues for this project. It’s important that people know the Liberal Party is still the big tent. I have been encouraged even by people who don’t agree with this agenda to write.

The book has a generous foreword from the Prime Minister who said:

“… for over two centuries we have perpetuated and suffered from an ingrained way of thinking, and that is the belief we know better than our Indigenous peoples. We don’t. We also thought we understood the problems facing Indigenous Australians better than they did. We don’t.”

Prime Minister Morrison is developing a strong record on Indigenous affairs which builds upon Harold Holt’s and Malcolm Fraser’s significant record.

Innovation and leadership on Indigenous affairs has been a thread of Australian liberalism. It has always been there. Indeed, Billy Wentworth was effectively arguing for a voice to parliament in the 1960s.

His contemporaries like former Liberal Party director Tony Eggleton told me Wentworth influenced Harold Holt.

Harold Holt delivered the historic 1967 referendum to arm the national government with power to legislate for Indigenous people and to be included in the census.

Sadly too many of us remember him for his death, not for this achievement which his predecessor (and probably his successor) was not prepared to provide.

Had he not disappeared, I believe our collective memory would place the referendum at the top of the Holt recollection pile. Scant detail exists on Holt, he never wrote his memoirs and there is just one biography written by the brilliant Professor Tom Frame.

Malcolm Fraser delivered land rights laws which have led to the bulk of the Northern Territory now being under the control of the original owners.

The Fraser era was not an era of economic reform but it was impeccable on liberal values: a fair deal for Indigenous people and a strong humanitarian approach on Vietnam and South Africa.

The thread bloomed during this period. I interviewed all three Fraser Ministers for Aboriginal affairs – Ian Viner, Peter Baume and Fred Chaney. They all say that Fraser was instrumental in delivering land rights in the face of enormous opposition from the pastoral and mining sector and the Northern Territory Government.

Yet the nation remembers Gough Whitlam pouring the red dirt into the hands of Vincent Lingiari. We don’t give Fraser enough credit for forcing through the first Land Rights system in Australia.

The renowned Indigenous leader Charles Perkins described Malcolm Fraser as the best leader on Indigenous affairs in his lifetime. He said Fraser was “A1”.

Our Prime Minister Scott Morrison has presided over the radical overhaul of the closing the gap targets in collaboration with the Coalition of the Peaks. I am sure this will be a historically significant contribution.

The PM has ensured this critical reform agenda designed to boost education, health and economic participation is now “co-designed” with the appropriate input from the community itself.

He kept his commitment and funded the Voice co-design process which is underway through Ken Wyatt’s department. We are pursuing a Voice and we maintain our commitment to constitutional recognition.

He has also changed the anthem. Australia’s greatest sporting champion Cathy Freeman said:

“What a way to start the year!!! A phone call from our Prime Minister to say that we are “One and Free”! Thank you!!!”

The process of writing this book has also brought out comments from other leaders.

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt said: “It is a contribution and a call to action for us all. And this is what we need to help not only progress on reconciliation but the debate around recognition..”

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B094775SKN/

We commemorate NAIDOC Week or National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee from 4-11 July. It is fitting then to remember Aboriginal Christian William Cooper who convinced the churches in the 1930’s to commemorate Aboriginal Sunday. This became National Aborigines Day and has been transformed to NAIDOC so William Cooper is rightfully recognized as the Father of NAIDOC.

REVIEW FEATURE
Authors depend on reviews so I help other authors out with reviews when I can so I have decided to feature a few occasionally in case you’re interested. They are usually inexpensive and quick to read as ebooks on amazon.

Bold, Brave & Brilliant: 12 life lessons to cultivate mental strength and emotional resilience by Emma Loveday
While I didn’t agree with everything, there is a huge amount of useful information in this book from a writer who had social anxiety for 15 years and has successfully come out the other end to be able to help others. Each chapter starts with one of Emma’s colourful drawings which has helped her. Her key points are not to avoid pain in life which is inevitable and not to avoid failure because you can learn from your mistakes. She describes herself as the Queen of Trying. She talks about resilience and tolerating hardship, challenging your negative thoughts, not being a perfectionist, dealing with heartbreak, being vulnerable and adaptable and removing emotional roadblocks. She says everything worth fighting for involves a struggle and we need to prioritize so we are not overwhelmed. Much good advice. Reviewed by B Miller 17 May 21
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B094XTXPHY/

Blame It On ‘Nam – How Education Became Indoctrination and what You can do about it: Become a critical thinking decision maker and advocate by Thomas Rowley, PhD
The author discusses the failure of the public education system in the USA to educate students in critical thinking and problem-solving skills. As an educator, he speaks from first-hand experience. He believes that the Vietnam War is one of the reasons for this. I won’t spoil your read by saying why. He is worried that many students and leaders in government, industry and education won’t listen to arguments that challenge their points of view. He discusses the effects of the pandemic and generational issues and is concerned re illiberalism. He recommends a plan of action and advocacy to deal with the issues raised. Reviewed by B Miller 20 June 21
https://www.amazon.com/Blame-Nam-Education-Indoctrination-critical-ebook/dp/B0971KXDJ3/

Farmers or Hunter-gatherers?

The Dark Emu Debate

Peter Sutton, Keryn Walshe

An authoritative study of pre-colonial Australia that dismantles and reframes popular narratives of First Nations land management and food production – Melbourne University Press.

My comment – Australians who have an eye on the media will know that Bruce Pascoe’s book Dark Emu that came out in 2014 has sold half a million copies, won him some literary prizes, led to a number of children’s books and study books for schools, led to a university professorship and generally made him famous. There has been little criticism until recently and now a new book by Sutton and Walshe has come out to specifically refute its argument that Australian Aborigines lived in villages of up to 1,000 people and were farmers not hunter-gatherers. There have also been doubts raised about his Aboriginality by others.

I read Dark Emu last year so have not refreshed myself on it. However, I thought at the time that the arguments were flimsy and stretched the point a lot. I have not read Sutton and Walshe’s book but know of Sutton’s good standing for his anthropological work at Aurukun in North Queensland.

Bruce Pascoe has apparently welcomed the debate according to Emeritus Professor Mark McKenna – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/25/bruce-pascoe-has-welcomed-the-dark-emu-debate-and-so-should-australia

Re Bruce Pascoe’s Aboriginality, just because someone is fair, does not mean they have no Aboriginal heritage. The long-accepted definition of an Aboriginal in Australia is someone who identifies as Aboriginal and is accepted as such by their community. So it is a personal plus community matter. I oppose any suggestion of having a national register of who is an Aboriginal. I don’t want to go back to the days of the late 1970’s in Queensland where the Bjelke-Petersen government wanted the government to define who is an Aboriginal.

Barbara Miller Book selection

Books on Yarrabah, Mapoon, William Cooper and de Quiros

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/
White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir – https://www.amazon.com/dp-B07CCMV6CP/
White Australia Has A Black History: William Cooper and First Nations Peoples’ Political Activism – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X1MYCDX/
William Cooper Gentle Warrior and The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita:Quiros Torres and Janszoon – www.barbara-miller-books.com

Be blessed and happy reading!

Barbara Miller Books Newsletter June 2021

Announcement My new book Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth About Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir, is available for pre-order on Amazon for the special price of 99c US as an ebook. It will be launched on 3 July and will stay at 99c for a few more days. The print book will be available shortly after. Here is the link – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095SDW3LY

I would love some reviews on Amazon please and for you to share about it on social medial. It is my second memoir, a follow-up from White Woman Black Heart which was too long. So in mid-2017, I pulled out about 50,000 words written mostly in 2016 and published White Woman Black Heart in March 2018. I planned to use the chapters I took out to write a second memoir and wondered if I would ever get back to it.

Then in November 2020, I had a dream where I was taken to Aurukun Aboriginal community, and saw an elder, a relative by marriage who was a Uniting Church pastor. In my dream, I thought ‘but you’ve passed away’. Then I saw a young Aboriginal girl who I thought might be his great-granddaughter. She pointed to a mobile phone of all things and said, “This is your story. You need to tell it.” Surprised, I didn’t say anything. The next morning, I remembered the dream clearly and that the first few chapters of my unfinished second memoir were about Aurukun. This gave me the inspiration and motivation to pick up the pieces and finish the writing.

REVIEW
Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir, is both a political chronicle and a personal memoir – a journey the young Barbara took into political activism and personal transformation, which became life-long. Barbara Miller shows the political and the personal can be two sides of a life journey of service.

There is critical history in this book from an activist on the inside. Yet the book also shows that political activism is not enough. It must be balanced by personal integrity and pursuit. The journey from the political into the personal, with fulfillment in spiritual practice, is also illuminating. Can we do one without the other? I think not, whatever the spiritual practice is.

Barbara’s book bought memories of the days of the Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council (ACC), both of us working at different levels within the ACC to respond to the directions and needs of the old reserve mission controls moving into deeds of grant in trust and ‘self-management’. Barbara’s political background provided essential insight and sound analysis. Mine saw the failure of the services delivered by a racist regime, with the ACC working to meet their legislative responsibilities. Barbara supported this work through research. Hers has been an inspirational journey of service at many levels.

Judy Atkinson, Emeritus Professor, PhD AM

ANOTHER REVIEW OF SECRETS AND LIES
Secrets and Lies contains exciting examples of the battles by the indigenous people of QLD against a repressive state regime which greedily sought to control their land and their lives in order to exploit the natural resources. They have developed a remarkable capacity for developing relationships with non-indigenous people who have joined them in their struggle. Barbara has been admitted, not only into their confidence, but also into their families and has achieved remarkable advantages for them in those battles.

Paul Richards, lawyer, author of Adventures with Agitators


MONTHLY FEATURED BOOK BY ANOTHER AUTHOR

it is incredible to read a true account of a life and understand firsthand what leads a person down ‘an inevitable path’. The person in question is Josie Lacey OAM whose experiences of antisemitism and the rise of Nazism saw her and her parents have to leave their homeland, apply to immigrate to Australia, arriving here in 1939.

At school as a ‘reffo’ Josie encountered ignorance and antisemitism which left an indelible mark. Her strong moral stance and her deep desire to combat racism and foster greater understanding between people of different faiths has resulted in her extraordinary life’s work; to educate, demystify and to fulfill responsibilities to family members who never had the chance to reach their potential. The scope and extent of this work demonstrates Josie’s many and varied achievements, including her interfaith activities, her enormous contribution to WIZO and her work on the Race Discrimination laws. Her commitment to her husband, Ian, and to her family is like every aspect of her life; complete and unfaltering.

This book reveals Josie’s thoughts on so many subjects and shows her joie de vivre and the passion she has to effect change, which is Josie’s hallmark. An insightful and comprehensive look into a life well-lived, An Inevitable Path will provide the reader with a real sense of the amazing woman that is Josie Lacey.

ORDER FROM
– https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/shop/products/books/an-inevitable-path/

Books on Yarrabah, Mapoon, William Cooper and de Quiros

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah
– https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/
White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir
– https://www.amazon.com/dp-B07CCMV6CP/
William Cooper Gentle Warrior and The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita:Quiros Torres and Janszoon – www.barbara-miller-books.com

Be blessed and happy reading!

Newsletter May 2021

Nearly there – new book.

I had planned on the title Battles with Bjelke and then Let My People Go, but ended up with Secrets and Lies. The subtitle is The Shocking Truth of Recent Aboriginal History, A Memoir. It is very revealing and no doubt you will be surprised many times. But also informed. It helps to understand how we got where we are today. But this is not first settlement history. It is a today book, or the last 50 years to May 2021 book. Don’t miss this exciting story! I plan to launch it at NAIDOC – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day Observance Committee in July 2021. Check my website for a discount for early buyers – www.barbara-miller-books.com

My book Secrets and Lies starts with the Aurukun people’s fight against mining on their land in 1975 and ends with the work for constitutional recognition including the Uluru Statement.

BOOK DESCRIPTION OF SECRETS AND LIES

Barbara Russell, a young woman from a white working-class family. A ruthless Premier Bjelke-Petersen enforcing legal discrimination. What secrets lie hidden? What lies are being told?

Barbara couldn’t stand by and watch the feud of the people with governments and miners strip Australian Aboriginal communities of all they held dear. Not if she could help.

But a white woman wasn’t always welcomed. A man fascinated with her passion might be her ticket to the action. Was she strong enough to make a difference for the people, resist the temptation of love, and stand up to her family too?

In this story of secrets, lies, ideological conflict and racial discrimination laws, Barbara teams up with Mick, an Aboriginal schoolteacher. They organise remote Australian Aboriginal people to fight Bjelke and the mining companies that encroach on their land. But Bjelke has a few tricks up his sleeve and will use all in his powers in this police state to stop them.

Can the church take on the state and win in this epic battle as the church stands with the Aboriginals to challenge racism? This historical memoir is another sizzling story in the First Nations True Stories series.

With the current debate in Australia of “Voice Treaty Truth” and the worldwide issue of Black Lives Matter, this book gives many key Aboriginal people a voice and reveals the shocking truth of the hidden history of 1975 to 2021 in a near-novel like manner. Every important historical event is covered. This is one of the social justice books that you will want on your shelf. The political activism examples are not those of keyboard warriors but those of a people who took to the trenches.

If you like fast-paced action, real-life heroes, and the window opened on another culture, this book is for you. If you like books with political intrigue that bring to life an interesting historical period, you’ll love Secrets and Lies.

REVIEW OF SECRETS AND LIES

A powerful, hard-hitting yarn, from the grassroots of Cape York community-life through to the necessary development of life-changing political activism on Cape York in the 1970s and 80s.

This is a story which needs to be told and has to be taught, with lessons to learn about what should be done, and how it should (and shouldn’t) be done.

These yarns are at the roots of what still happens today, in this day and age, making it an essential read for anyone who has ties or an interest in, not just in the Cape York landscape, but across all of Government/Aboriginal politics.

A well-written and fascinating contextual read for anyone with a passion for justice for Aboriginal people.

Christine Howes, FNQ correspondent for Koori Mail

 

AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Congratulations to the following winners of the ABIA Awards
ABIA BOOK OF THE YEAR
Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark, Julia Baird (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)

Audio Book of the Year
Tell Me Why, Archie Roach; narrated by Archie Roach (Sound Kitchen, Simon & Schuster Australia, Simon & Schuster Australia)

Biography of the Year
The Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)

Also to other authors including Indigenous authors
In the children’s category, the Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year was awarded to Gunai author Kirli Saunders for her book Bindi (illustrated by Dub Leffler). Rapper Adam Briggs, alongside co-authors Kate Moon and Rachael Sarra, won the Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award for Our Home, Our Heartbeat.

Books on Yarrabah, Mapoon, William Cooper and de Quiros

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/
White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir – https://www.amazon.com/dp-B07CCMV6CP/
William Cooper Gentle Warrior and The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita:Quiros Torres and Janszoon 

Be blessed and happy reading!

Newsletter for Feb-March 2021

Spoiler Alert – new book is on the way. Possible title – Battles with Bjelke: An Insider View of the Aboriginal Movement, A Memoir. This may not be the title but it is a shocking expose of the treatment of Aboriginal people in the days of the Bjelke-Petersen government and beyond and their valiant resistance.

Left – Barbara with John Mark and Susan Brown at the Paanja Festival at Mapoon. They were visiting from New Mapoon. Right – Barbara with Henrietta Fourmile and Rev Dorita at the launch of her book at Yarrabah – The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah.

Books on Yarrabah, Mapoon, William Cooper and de Quiros

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/
White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir – https://www.amazon.com/dp-B07CCMV6CP/
William Cooper Gentle Warrior and The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita:Quiros Torres and Janszoon –
www.barbara-miller-books.com

Be blessed and happy reading!

Recent interview on William Cooper, Evian and Kristallnacht conducted with Barbara by Ruth Webb for Bendigo Radio.

Audiobook “If I Survive” is out and other newz 😊😎

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:

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1525870950 

https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/471083109/If-I-Survive-Nazi-Germany-and-the-Jews-100-year-old-Lena-Goldstein-s-Miracle-Story 

https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/1019029/If-I-Survive 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/if-i-survive 

https://www.hibooks.com/discover/audiobook/if-i-survive 

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/Barbara_Miller_If_I_Survive?id=AQAAAEAcGB9YEM 

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.

READ MORE

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.

https://barbara-miller-books.com/blog/
https://barbara-miller-books.com/store/

Success Code

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 Vision”  The link which is
We asked over 20 experts to describe these habits for us, and the result was “The Success Code.” 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 Anniversary in 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 Australia’s Martin Luther King, Cooper leads the Australian Aborigines’ 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 grandfather’s 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/

Many blessings and happy reading!!!

August News

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 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0648472280

The Canberra Declaration book

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 “The Success Code.” 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 Vision” 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 Australia’s Martin Luther King, Cooper leads the Australian Aborigines’ 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 grandfather’s 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/
 
 
Many blessings and happy reading!!!

Enjoy a free eBook – Shattered Lives Broken Dreams

Out now and free eBook for 5 days

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/

The link to the book on Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50608368-shattered-lives-broken-dreams. For those not eligible to post on Amazon, Goodreads is a good option.

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.

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.

The second photo is 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.

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.

Exciting New Book – Shattered Lives Broken Dreams

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 Aborigines’ 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.

New Book


William Cooper led the Australian Aborigines’ 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.

The link to the book on Amazon is – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X1MYCDX

The link to the book on Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/47942441-white-australia-has-a-black-history

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams has not yet gone to the printer and is not yet available on Amazon.

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


https://omny.fm/shows/beersheba-vision/4-12-2019-beersheba-vision-ep6-barbara-miller-will?fbclid=IwAR2FJ-NnLDDU9FwuO5yVtHw8LhONQZ-jYb-o5zYi73XQWSmrZkRDEKCQ8d0

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 women’s and community football. 

There were four speakers at the seminar – 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 Boydie’s daughter, shared briefly. Barbara is pictured speaking. A mural of the Tigers AFL players on the wall.

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 Boydie’s 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.

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.

Otto’s 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.

William Cooper Book Launch at SJM

2 Feb 2:30pm 2020

Come along to Barbara’s launch for her new book ‘White Australia Has a Black History‘ and her very latest book ‘Shattered Lives Broken Dreams‘, on the 2nd of February 2020 at the Sydney Jewish Museum.

 Barbara would love to see you there!

Where: Sydney Jewish Museum, 148 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst

When: Sunday 2 February, 2.30pm, 2020

Event Link: https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/shop/events/talk/book-launch-white-australia-has-a-black-history-by-barbara-miller/ 

 

Book Launch: ‘White Australia Has A Black History’ by Barbara Miller

Author Talk at LAMM Library and New Book Gift Give-Away

3 Dec 7:30pm 2019

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‘

We hope to see you there!

William Cooper special Kristallnacht Cantata Event and New Book Gift Give-Away

8 Dec 2019


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 have a special promotion for her book White Australia Has A Black History: William Cooper and First Nations Peoples’ Political Activism available at the Kristallnacht Cantata Melbourne, on the night of Dec 8; with $5 for each book sold going to the 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.

We hope to see you there!

Book Launch Success – White Australia has a Black Heart

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.


White Australia Book Launch Flier PDF

New Book ‘White Australia Has a Black History’ Out Now on Amazon

Barbara Miller’s new book ‘White Australia Has A Black History: William Cooper And First Nations Peoples’ Political Activism (William Cooper Gentle Warrior Book 1)‘ is out now and available for Kindle or as a Paperback on Amazon!



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 Australia’s 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…

Read more

 

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White Woman Black Heart Book Cover

FREE ON AMAZON JUNE 28 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST TILL JUNE 30 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST – https://www.amazon.com/dp/198670601X

Barbara often found herself using the Aussie saying, “the stork dropped me at the wrong house” only to find she was repeating her mother’s words. In this riveting historical memoir exploring race relations and social change, Aboriginal elder Burnum Burnum, told her, “you 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

If I Survive Book Cover

FREE ON AMAZON JULY 4 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST TILL JULY 6 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST
– https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MQ4DKJH

“If I Survive.” 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

Cover of The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia (final)

FREE ON AMAZON JULY 24 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST TILL JULY 28 12AM PDT TIME OR 5PM AEST – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6/

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

norman and barbara miller with latest book
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
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