A panel of Indigenous writers examine how their identities as writers have been shaped by their ancestral links and their understanding of the past. Leanne Tobin discusses the theatre script she is developing about the life of her ancestor Maria Locke, under the mentorship of Wesley Enoch. Ali Cobby Eckermann talks about the inspiration behind ‘little bit long time’ and how her connection to her family history informs her poetry. Marie Munkara explores how stories and experiences are handed down through generations.

Presented with Blacktown Arts Centre.

Ali Cobby Eckermann (Australian)
Ali Cobby Eckermann is a Nunga author and poet. Her first poetry collection, ‘Little Bit Long Time’, highlights her journey to find her Yankunytjatjara family in central Australia. Her poem ‘Intervention Pay Back’ won the Red Earth Poetry Award in 2008 and was published in ‘Best Australian Poems 2009’. Ali’s latest chapbook is titled ‘Kami’. ‘My Father’s Eyes’ is her first verse novel.

Marie Munkara (Australian)
Marie Munkara is of Rembarranga descent and was born on the banks of the Mainoru River in Arnhem Land. She comes from a long line of self-confessed eccentrics and is an avid breeder of green tree frogs and swamp frogs. Marie lives in Darwin with her three cats and two dogs. Her first book ‘Every Secret Thing’ won the 2008 David Unaipon Award for Indigenous Writing and the 2010 Territory Read Northern Territory Book of the Year Award.

Leanne Tobin (Australian)
Leanne Tobin is a descendant of the Darug, the traditional Aboriginal people of Greater Western Sydney. She has been commissioned by the Blacktown Arts Centre to develop a theatre script about the life of her ancestor Maria Locke, daughter of the great chief Yarramundi and the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry a white man and receive a land grant from the colonial government. The Maria Locke story has particular significance to the history of Blacks Town, aka Blacktown.